A Night to Remember

 Last Thursday’s Toastmasters meeting offered a rich tapestry of heartfelt poetry, inspirational stories, sharp wit, and historical insight – truly a night to remember!

Alex Kazoba opened the evening with his original poem, Proud to be Ugandan. In this moving piece, Alex painted a vivid portrait of the natural beauty of his homeland, “the Pearl of Africa.” With poignant lines like “the rivers that flow love inside me” and “Lakes of sympathy” that brought rains to “wash away” his tears, Alex gave us a glimpse into both the pride and the pain woven into his love for Uganda. We were privileged to witness such a personal and powerful expression.

The evening stayed rooted in Uganda as Margaret O’Regan took us there in her speech, Sunset of Life. Margaret shared her experience volunteering for ten months in 2018, bringing her nursing skills to a project supporting elderly Ugandans—many of whom live isolated lives due to the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic. Working in a team alongside local people like Alex Kazoba, Margaret helped establish three day centres that continue to provide essential health care, companionship, and joy. “It was a blessing,” she reflected, “for them and for me.”

Pat Sexton treated us to a reprise of his hilarious speech, Antarctica, chronicling a not-so-epic journey from Mallow to Mullingar in his brand new Tesla. With dry wit, he described receiving a “bonus fire extinguisher” and likened his sleek electric car to a “laptop on wheels.” As the battery dwindled and the heater gave out, Pat drew parallels with Shackleton’s famed Endurance expedition — only to add that at least Tom Crean didn’t suffer from “range anxiety”! Pat will take this brilliant piece to Solihull in two weeks as he represents Division A in the Humorous Speech Contest — best of luck, Pat!

In The Story of O’Neill, Marie Lynes offered a thought-provoking exploration of the legendary Hugh O’Neill. Far from the simple hero of history books, O’Neill emerged as a nuanced and complex figure. Marie encouraged anyone intrigued by his story to catch Making History by Brian Friel, running at the Everyman Theatre in Cork until Saturday, April 26th.

Paul Corcoran wrapped up the evening with the second of his speeches on Managing Projects Successfully. His current project: revamping the website for his celebrant business. Though he admitted that “real life got in the way,” Paul shared valuable lessons learned — especially the power of teamwork and the surprising motivation of a tight deadline. He urged members to apply Toastmasters projects to real-life goals.

With such a wide variety of subjects and styles, last Thursday’s meeting was a perfect showcase of the warmth, wit, and wisdom at the heart of Speakeasy Toastmasters. We’ll be doing it all again next Thursday, May 1st — and with just four meetings left, now’s the perfect time to visit us before the season ends.

Why not come along and see what we’re all about?

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Speakers: Paul Corcoran, Marie Lynes, Margaret O'Regan, Alex Kazoba (poem) and Pat Sexton

Topicsmaster, Liam Flynn  Toastmaster Rachel Liston and standing in for President Bobby Buckley, Noel O'Connor

Evaluators, Brendan Foley, Rachel Liston, Claire O'Connell and Michael Cronin

A Weekend of Contests

In early April Toastmaster Division Contests were held throughout Ireland. On Saturday April 5th, Bobby Buckley was a contestant in the Division M Speech Final in Dublin with his speech, Conclave and Me’. In spite of a fine performance, Bobby was edged out of the awards. First prize went to Aine Ni Ghlinn of Rathfarnham, who was a recent visitor to our club.

On Sunday April 6th the Division A Finals were held in Cork . It was an afternoon of friendship, rivalry and great speaking!..Pat Sexton competed in the Speech Evaluation Contest. Anne Lawlor from Tralee gave the ‘test speech’ and five contestants from different areas offered evaluations on it. Displaying his signature incisiveness and wit, Pat Sexton won First Place. Anthony Garvey of Tralee Toastmasters won the Speech Contest. Both Pat and Anthony will now go forward to the District 71 Irish and British Finals in Solihull in early May. We wish them the best of Luck!

Our next meeting is on this Thursday,April 17th. Why not come along and see what happens at a meeting? You’ll be glad you did!

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Speakeasy Meeting on April 3rd

 On April 3rd, Paul Corcoran, our Vice President Education, stepped up as

Toastmaster for the evening. He led the meeting with his usual professionalism and

attention to detail. He reminded us all of one of the core benefits of Toastmasters :

confidence—a quality he embodies fully. It comes as no surprise that Paul has been

appointed Area 17 Director for the coming year. Well deserved, Paul.

James McConville attended our meeting as a guest and shared a very moving

original poem of his; Salt in the Wound. His haunting images of the ravages of war

and ‘the wounds that will not heal’ left a lasting impression.

Pat Sexton delivered a heartfelt speech Johnny Cannot Read recounting a

classmate’s struggle with undiagnosed dyslexia. His story was both emotional and

thought-provoking. He questioned current funding priorities in education. ‘ Instead of

introducing universal benefits for pupils’, he asked ’should we target support where

the needs are greatest?’

We were delighted to welcome two guests from Tralee Toastmasters at this meeting.

One of these, Anne Lawlor delivered an inspiring speech entitled Carpe Diem. Citing

Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society she encouraged us all to ‘Seize the Day’ This

spirit of adventure earned her a scholarship to study in Sydney for a year and as a

teacher in a special school, it inspired her to abandon the schoolroom and take the

students to delight in the wonder of playing in the snow for a day!. Ann definitely lives

by her motto and leads by example.

Bobby Buckley revisited his insightful and humorous speech, Conclave and Me, about his visit to the film ,Conclave. This very impressive presentation demonstrated

how even seasoned speakers in Toastmasters can gain from evaluations and

positive recommendations. Bobby qualified for the Division M Final in Dublin with this

very entertaining speech.

Acting as Topicsmaster, Margaret O’Regan elicited very amusing replies to some

topics she posed ‘What is the nicest thing someone ever said about you?’

In her role as Grammarian, our guest, Áine Quinn from Tralee, challenged us to

include the word ‘rejuvenate’ in our contributions and offered a delightful summary of

the evening’s most vivid and expressive language.

We will do it all again on Thursday, April 17th and guests are always welcome.

Come along, observe, enjoy: and remember, there’s never any pressure to speak.

Speakeasytoastmasters.com

Top Table: Paul Corcoran as Toastmasters, Margaret O'Regan as Topics Master, Bobby Public as President

Speakers: Bobby Buckley, Anne Lawlor, Pat Sexton

Evaluators: Marie Lynes, Michael Cronin, Marie Fitzpatrick