The Gift of Speechcraft

The final Speakeasy Toastmasters Meeting of the year will take place on Thursday Night, 12th December in The Hibernian Hotel Mallow at 8.00PM. 

It will incorporate Seasonal Festivities with the usual opportunities for members to hone their communication skills. One of skills focused on will be the delivery of "special occasion" speeches. We often find ourselves having to do the honours on specific occasions, be it at weddings, retirement parties and other celebrations. Quite often, such events are marred by meandering speeches. In Toastmasters, we learn "the art of brevity" - long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to remain interesting.

Over the past two weeks, Speakeasy has been privelaged to witness speechcraft at it's finest. At the last Club Meeting, we were treated to some wonderful speeches and stories where the listener got to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes".

Marie Lynes offered a beautiful reflection on her journey through the decades. "My Time Lines" chronicled her parents returning home from Bolton to set up a business in the town of Newmarket. She humorously believes that the "Sixties" happened in the Seventies! She spoke about the impact of the Northern Troubles and the last hurrah (in hindsight) of the Papal Visit in 1979. She eloquently described her experiences as a teacher and working in an envoirnment "where everyone has gifts and everyone has difficulties".

"26 years a growing" was how Margaret O'Regan described her experience of being a member of Speakeasy. She couldn't recall when she overcame her nervousness about speaking in public - it happened gradually and then suddenly which is a common story in Toastmasters. She detailed her many roles in life - a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a nurse and a farmer. He outlined the reasons why she upped sticks  for 9 months and went volunteering on the Congolese /Congolese border - an adventure that proved to be humbling, enlightening, challenging and fun.

"Responsibilities" was the title of Mary Moynihan's entertaining look at growing up in a County which was described by Queen Victoria - The Famine Queen - as The Kingdom. Growing up in the Sliabh Luachra area, Mary spoke about the Holy Trinity that was School Education, Church Salvation and Pub Damnation. She also summed up the notorious Kerry reticence towards travelling - "Why would I travel when everything is in the Kingdom?"

Travel was certainly the theme of the Gillian Harris' fascinating account of the life of Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Pierce Evans. "A girl from Newcastle - West" was an extraordinary tale of pioneering adventure and trail blazing. Born in 1896 and orphaned at an early age, Sophie lived a life less ordinary with numerous financially enriching marriages and a pioneering spirit which including a campaign to admit  Women Athletes in the Olympics. She then blazed a trail in aviation, inspiring many women to spread their wings. She was a woman of style and substance who was born to fly. 

Speeches were also to the fore at last week's Schools Public Speaking Competition. A total of 16 students participated, drawn from Schools stretching from the Kerry Border to Charleville and taking in Kanturk, Doneraile and Mallow. A packed room was enthralled by a diverse and fascinating array of speeches on subjects like Michelle Obama, smoking, farming and mental health. 

Following some serious deliberations by the adjudicators, Sinéad Barry, St. Mary's Secondary school, Mallow finished in 3rd Place; Molly Kirwan, Scoil Mhuire Kanturk was Runner-up and Fiona Lonergan, St. Mary's Secondary School Mallow was the winner. Fiona's speech - "What If" was a strong presentation on the importance of gender equality and worthy of the Hibernian Hotel Perpetual Trophy. The Mallow Credit Union Perpetual  Prize for Best School was awarded to St. Mary's Secondary school, Mallow.

Speakeasy Toastmasters wishes to thank Mallow Credit Union for their continued sponsorship of this Competition. Thanks are also due to the various Schools and their teaching staff as well as the various mentors whose contribution helped make this occasion such an overwhelming success.

Finally, a reminder that guests are welcome to attend any of of the Club's Meetings including this week's Meeting on this Thursday night. Guests are assured of a great night's entertainment and are not obliged to speak unless they wish to do so.

For more information on this club, please check out our website speakeasytoastmasters.com or on Facebook. 

Speak Easy Toastmasters Club meets on alternate Thursday Nights of each month, September to May at 8.00 PM Sharp in The Hibernian Hotel, Mallow: Speak Easy Toastmasters was founded in April 1993 speakeasytoastmasters.com