Monday, April 19, 2010

Tall Tales and True

Speakeasy Toastmasters held the tall tales competition and a regular meeting on April 15th. Noel O’ Connor was Toastmaster for the normal meeting and chaired the competition. Kieran Butler was Topicsmaster. The evening commenced with the regular meeting. Delivering speeches were Mary Moynihan who described the economic and health benefits of farmer market produce, Cáit Murray who explained the phenomenon of spring and Michael Buckley, a long-standing member of the Crusaders Toastmasters Club in Cork, who delivered an entertaining speech, which described the attraction between the sexes. The speech evaluators were Tony O’ Regan, Pat Sexton and Ray Ryan Jnr.

After the tea break the Tall Tales competition was held. The speakers had to deliver a quirky speech of a humorous nature. Taking part in the competition were Sean Corcoran, Michael Cronin, Mary Buckley, Ray Ryan Jnr and Danielle Lenihan. Michael Cronin won the competition with Ray Ryan Jnr placed second. Finally Pat Sexton was congratulated on winning the Area 17 speech evaluation competition, and will be representing the area in the division final, which will be held at the Oriel Hotel, Ballincollig on April 25th.

Our next meeting will be held on April 29th at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, starting at 8:00pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend our meetings and will not be asked to speak. Further details about the club are available from our website, www.speakeasytoastmasters.com, which features a blog containing our press release archive, or from Ray ay 086-3675706.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Speak Easy Members as Leaders

Members of Speakeasy Toastmasters have made a significant contribution to the wider Toastmaster organization. Club members who served as area governors since the 1990’s include Joe O’ Connor, Matt Lawlee, Jeremiah Roynane, Jerry Kelleher, Michael Cronin, Sean Corcoran, Pat Duggan, Margaret O’ Regan and Tony O’ Regan. Division Governors drawn from our have been Pat Sexton, Jeremiah Roynane, Tony O’ Regan and Sean Corcoran, while Pat Duggan served as an assistant division governor. Jeremiah Roynane served as District 71 Governor in 2003, the highest ranking Toastmaster in Ireland and the UK. Dermot Meaney and John Stack have also served on the District 71 Committee.

Not alone have members of Speakeasy Toastmasters served in leadership roles but they have contributed to the wider Toastmaster community through the establishment of new clubs and supporting the efforts of our neighbouring clubs. The contribution of Sean Corcoran was recognized recently when he was presented with the Paul G. Murphy award which honours the Toastmaster of the year in Division A. In addition to Sean’s work with Toastmaster clubs in the Division, Sean maintains our club website and was webmaster for the District 71 website.

Details of the Tall Tales competition will feature on next week’s report. Our next meeting will be held on April 29th at our usual venue; the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow, commencing at 8:00pm. Further details about the club are available from our website, www.speakeasytoastmasters.com , which features a blog containing meeting reports and a photo gallery, or from Ray at 086-3675706. Non-members are more than welcome to attend our meetings and will not be asked to speak.

Monday, April 05, 2010

The Glass Half-Full Club

Speakeasy Toastmasters met on Wednesday March 31st. Jerry Mulcahy was Toastmaster for the evening and Bridie O’ Connell was Topicsmaster. The other officers for the meeting were Joe Hassett who was general evaluator, Pat Sexton who was timekeeper and Jean Sayers who was grammarian.

Four speakers were on the night’s program. Helen Buckley, from the Nice ‘n Easy Club, delivered a speech about soil cultivation. Kieran Butler argued in favour of equality for both men and women, Ray Ryan Jnr recounted humorous incidences of heckling at political meetings. Pat Duggan invited us to join the “Glass half-full Club” and embrace the power of positive thinking. The speech evaluators were Angela Sheehan, Anne Buckley, Noel O’ Connor and Sean Corcoran.

The next meeting of Speakeasy Toastmasters will be held at our usual venue, the Hibernian Hotel Mallow, Thursday April 15th, commencing at 8:00pm. On that night we will be holding the club Tall Tales contest. Contestants will deliver a short humorous speech which will have bizarre twists. Further details about the club are available from our website,

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com , which features a blog containing meeting reports and a photo gallery, or from Ray at 086-3675706. Non-members are more than welcome to attend our meetings and will not be asked to speak.