The Cream Of The Crop
The club would like to warmly congratulate Anne Buckley on her appointment as Assistant Division A Governor. Division A covers counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, catering for approximately 20-30 clubs. Anne is a lady of dignity, charm and grace. Anne’s dedication, foresight and experience will be of real benefit to the 20-30 clubs involved.
On a gloomy night in January, it was a pleasure to come to Toastmasters. The sounds of laughter and conversation drifted down the hotel corridor. A large group of friends and visitors came out for our first meeting of the New Year. Liam Flynn opened the meeting by welcoming one and all to the meeting and thanking his committee for all their hard work in the past year. Marie Lynnes, our Education Vice President, who puts together the program each week, is seasoned professional. David Roche our treasurer, has a great head for figures. He is currently collecting the last of the subscriptions for the year. Michael Cronin, our secretary, is a mind reader, as he always manages to know just what needs to be done and how to do it. Our Sergeants At Arms, Margaret O’Regan, Brendan Foley and Helsa Giles are busy bees, who act as a welcoming committee, as well as organising the room. Anne O’Donovan helps our new members find their feet. Rona Coghlan takes care of PR. Noel O’Connor as past president, is our advisor.
We had the privilege to listen to four beautiful and varied speeches. We had a gentle and thought provoking speech from Marrian Oviawve entitled “Manners Matters.” She told us that,“ teaching manners is giving a child a lifelong gift.” Her vignettes of teaching her son manners, provided heart-warming insight into the importance of her topic.
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| Noel O'Connor Area Governor, Ray Ryan Division A Governor, Anne Buckley Assistant Division A Governor Liam O'Flynn Club President.n |
Ray Ryan had a historical gem in his speech, “A Visit To Ireland.” Quotes and anecdotes from Virigina Wolfe, on her impressions of her visit to Ireland were vivid and unusual. They showcased the thoughts of a woman both fascinated and flummoxed the by the nuances of Irish conversation and customs.
Michael Cronin, in his own inimitable style, furnished us with the details of the most colourful man in history, under the title “The King Of Connaught.” To prove a case of cruelty to animals, this gentleman brought a donkey into the court. He afterwards proceeded to pay the fine.
Helsa Giles is passionate in her loyalty, for those who receive support for severe and profound special needs at Cope Foundation. It was her plan to open our eyes to the myriad possibilities to provide everyone with the opportunity to express their unique gifts. She finished with the example of a young man with celebral palsy, who plays bodhran in a band, thanks to computer technology that responds to the blinking of his eye.
Brendan Foley announced he “wanted invigorating, fascinating and eccentric table topics, so he based them on himself.” The following are a selection of answers to the topics. “ What makes me angry? I’ll go for the easy answer. Men make me angry.” Marlene “ A Smith and Weston trumps four aces.” Dave “ Paddy, Pat, Patrick Sexton The Great. Opponents tremble when he appears on the contest list.” Mary “A man should never ask a lady where she put things in the house because she always puts them in the right place.” Kieran
And this is just the beginning. A wonderful year lies ahead of us at Toastmasters. Everyone is welcome to our next meeting on 22nd January at 8pm in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com
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