Indian Summer at Speakeasy

"Confidence building, leadership skills, and goal setting were just 3 of the gifts I acquired in Toastmasters." This was how Margaret O'Regan described her journey through Toastmasters in a wonderful speech at last week's Speakeasy Toastmasters meeting.

"Just so you know" was an inspiring recollection of how Speakeasy has helped Margaret in many aspects of life. From dipping the toe in the water by presenting an occasional speech to becoming immersed in various leadership roles, Margaret reflected on how Toastmasters can be a positive experience.

She also reflected on the charisma of former Club President, Jeremiah Ronayne, and how his influence shone brightly during the recent marathon cycle from Malin Head to Mizen in his memory, which has been a spectacular fundraiser for Marymount Hospice in Cork.

Michael Cronin has a reputation for humour, and his speech "The Heart of the Matter" did not disappoint in that regard. He spoke of his fascination with advertising and marketing, referencing the famous adverts for Harp with Sally O'Brien, Barry's Tea and the Train Set, and the Wonderbra billboard campaign of the mid-nineties. He has wondered if there is a market in North Cork for Rolex watches because of the recent billboard displays in Mallow. Currently, he has become enthralled by the Bon Secours campaign announcing its open-heart surgery programme. He wonders if making such a programme so readily available will encourage people to throw caution to the wind in terms of lifestyle and diet because a trip to the Bons is so convenient.

Trevor O'Sullivan gave us "A Tale of the Unexpected from LinkedIn." Having joined the ranks of the self-employed, Trevor decided to build his social media presence on LinkedIn. This site is designed as a networking opportunity for businesspeople to advertise their expertise. And then, he waited and waited for enquiries to flood in. Alas, nothing happened! But eventually, just as he was losing all hope, a "digital marketer" contacted him, offering all sorts of options for "creating content," which came with a hefty price tag! In life, you get out what you put in, but on LinkedIn, no such guarantees exist!

In the poetry corner, Jillian Harris presented a thoughtful and enjoyable poem called "Kitchen." It described the usual items you may find in the kitchen—the pots, pans, ladles, the beetroot and turmeric, and the well-used table. But the child is now grown, and the nest is empty—a reflection on the inevitable passing of time.

All speeches were comprehensively evaluated by the team of Claire O'Connell, Bobby Buckley, and Don McSweeney. "Evaluate to motivate" is the motto we apply to feedback we give our members. In this instance, humour was very much in vogue in the appraisal of the speakers.

Noel, Margaret, and Brendan - our cycle crew

Top Table: Toastmaster Rachel Liston, President Bobby Buckley, Topicsmaster Helsa Giles

Speakers: Trevor O'Sullivan, Margaret O'Regan, and Michael Cronin

Evaluators: Don McSweeney,  Claire O'Connell, and Bobby Buckley

Nostalgia and New Beginnings

Paul Gallagher acted as Toastmaster/ MC for our first meeting of the new season. To open, Marie Lynes presented the poem of the evening, The Wild Swans at Coole by W.B. Yeats.

Bobby Buckley presented the first speech, ’The Magic Of a Speech for Me’. In it he took us on a humorous and nostalgic tour of the Mallow of his youth in the 1950’s. He shared his passion, challenges and ultimate success in the activity of long distance running. He recalled a previous speech that he gave in this club, ‘The Man on the Bike’, a tribute to his father, his coach. He confessed that giving that speech about his early experiences proved very cathartic for him. He expressed the hope that his example would motivate other members to create and share a speech from their own life journeys.

Paul Corcoran has been busy over the Summer refurbishing and remodelling our club website. In his speech, ‘Like and Subscribe, he gave a clear and informative talk on how somebody can set about building a strong social media presence. He explained how key information can be put on many platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X and Whatsapp and then all made more accessible by combining them on Linktree. He even solved the mystery of using a QR code for some of us technophobes. We are now even on Google Maps! He hopes many will ‘Like’ us and become followers.He succeeded in presenting a clear and engaging speech on a technical subject. 

Michael Cronin evaluated Bobby’s speech and Pat Sexton evaluated Paul’s. They both presented interesting and positive evaluations.

Rachel Liston posed a great variety of topics for members to express their opinions on, in the course of the evening.. Her topic on ‘What does Autumn signify for you?’ elicited a very emotional response from Jillian. She evoked images of golden and crimson leaves in New England, the taste of apple and cinnamon, memories of nuts and berries and Halloween. Pat, in contrast, declared he felt that the aura of Autumn is much diminished for him, since the much anticipated, annual G.A.A. finals are no longer played and celebrated in September. On the question of ‘Who would you pay €400 for a ticket to go to see?’ There was only one dissenting voice to Don’s reply ‘Nobody’.

A very enjoyable night was had by all with some very welcome guests. 

Our next meeting is on Thursday the 19th of September in the Tudor Room, upstairs, in the Hibernian Hotel.

Everyone is welcome and no pressure to speak.

Bobby, Rachel, and Paul

Pat, Michael, Bobby, and Paul