Speakeasy Toastmasters to host Schools Public Speaking Competition.

Speakeasy Toastmasters Club are delighted to announce that their 13th Annual Schools Public Speaking Competition will take place on Thursday 29th November in the Hibernian Hotel,Mallow at 8.00PM.

The inaugural Schools Public Speaking Competition was held in 2006 under the guidance of then President, Mary Buckley. Participants came from Transition Year students (15/16 years old) in the three Secondary schools in Mallow - Davis College,Patrician Academy and St Mary's School.

On that occasion, Emma Nyhan of St. Mary's Secondary School, Mallow won the Perpetual Trophy for Best Speaker and her school was awarded the Best Overall Team prize. From the outset, we have been fortunate to have the kind sponsorship and support from Mallow Credit Union and the Hibernian Hotel who provided perpetual trophies for Individual and Team winners. We are extremely grateful for their continued support.

Since then the Competition has expanded enormously with participating schools coming from all over the North Cork region. Schools in Boherbue, Buttevant, Charleville, Doneraile, Kanturk,Millstreet and Mitchelstown have graced this competition.Withoutexception, it is the highlight of our Toastmasters season.

Each year, students continue to inspire with their creativity, enthusiasm and humour. Topics selected range from the serious to the sublime, from the issue of consent to the joy of rugby, from fashion to peer pressure, from bullying to the joy of being a"goth".Reflecting the diversity that now prevails in our schools, our competition reflects the diversity of a multicultural Ireland. We hold fond memories of Davis College student, Radek Zuk who talked himself to victory in 2009 with his hilariousaccount of his experiences as a young Polish immigrant in Ireland.

Each speaker delivers a 5 minute speech on a topic of their choice and are judged on their content and presentation. Each school is entitled to 2 participants. Last year's contest was ,arguably, the finest yet. The winning school was Scoil Treasa, Kanturk and the Best individual Speaker was Darragh Healy-Fitzgerald of Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk with a wonderful presentation- "Birds of a feather stereotype together".

As part of the Schools Public Speaking Project, members of Speakeasy , Marie Fitzpatrick, Michael Cronin and Pat Sexton run Speaking Courses in Mallow,Kanturk and Doneraile. Moreover, members of the Club act as adjudicators for School's DebatingCompetitions.A significant amount of adverse publicity is directed towards today's youth. Our Schools Public Speaking Competition tells an entirely different story. It illustrates the positive contribution that young people make to our community.If you wish to be inspired by the leaders of tomorrow, the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow on Thursday,29th November is the place to be.

In other news, the Area 17 (North Cork) Finals of the Humorous Speech and Table

Topics Contests took place in Fermoy. It was a rewarding night for the Speakeasy 

representatives as they emerged as winners in both events. In the Humorous Contest

Kieran Butler was declared Winner with his speech-"Development". Claire O Connell 

finished in the runner-up position with her tale of love -"Cal Sharp". In the Table Topics 

Contest participants were challenged to address the question -" TV Soaps like Emmerdale Farm, East Enders and Fair City- do they reflect reality or are they pure

fantasy?" In the final judgement, Pat Sexton emerged as Winner with Ray Ryan in 

second place.All four Speakeasy contestants will go forward to compete in the

Division B (Munster)Finals in Charleville on Sunday,25th November.

The next Speakeasy Toastmasters meeting takes place in the Hibernian Hotel,

Mallow on Thursday,15th November at 8.00PM. If you would like an evening of 

entertainment,reflection and inspiration, why not pay us a visit. Guests are always 

welcome and are never "pounced on" to speak, unless they wish to do so.For more

information,please check out our website speakeasytoastmasters.com or on

Facebook.