The Magic of the written word

"It's only words and words are all I have", the Bee Gees once sang. But words can be powerful, they can uplift or undermine. Words are the key to unlocking the magic of the iminagation. Words are the weapons of the writer as they pour their creativity onto the page.

At last week's Speakeasy Toastmasters Theme Meeting - Literary Speaking - various Club members took up the challenge of interpreting the writings of well known writers and bringing them to life. There was humour aplenty - Michael Cronin's interpretation of Joseph O'Connor's "The Birds and the Bees" poked fun at the desperately seeking love and Sean Corcoran's rendition of John B Keane's "The Letter" told the hapless tale of a matchmaker's attempt to provide loving relationships for the really desperate Self deprecating humour was beautifully woven into the language of Maeve Binchy's "Happy Hypochondria". Bridie O'Connell captured that feeling of "white coat fever" that many of us feel when visiting a doctor's or a dentist's surgery. If we are feeling unwell beforehand, that feeling is often doubled by the time we leave. 

Nostalgia abounded. Some stories reminded listeners of the Inter-cert English Course. Loretto Barry captured the "Corkness" of Frank O'Connor's "My First Confession" and Deirdre Linehan gave a dramatic presentation of Brendan Behan's "The Confirmation Suit". Both captured the essence of great Irish writing - a troubled childhood and Catholicism.

Noel O'Connor did a moving homage to a former member, Máire Welford. Her short story "Off the Scrapheap" told the fake of an unemployed mechanic regaining his self esteem. The late John Dillon of Kanturk was fondly remembered in Anne Buckley'srendition of the mysterious "The Murhur Reel", which painted a wonderful picture of life in rural Kerry in the 1940s.

No evening of readings would be compete without a helping of horror. Bobby Buckley duly obliged with the scary story of "Beowulf - Dragonslayer" from Rosemary Sutcliff. This was a tale that could have inspired "Game of Thrones" and frightened children of all ages. And so concluded "Literary Speaking", another night that will go down in the annals of great Speakeasy nights. 

Back row: Liam Flynn, Bobby Buckley, Sean Corcoran, Noel O'Connor, Michael Cronin & Pat Sexton.
Front Row:Anne Buckley, Loretto Barry, Bridie O'Connell & Deirdre Linehan. 

In other news, the District 71 (Ireland and Britain) Conference takes place in Norwich this coming weekend. Speakeasy will be represented in the Table Topics and Evaluation Contests by Pat Sexton. It promises to be an eventful weekend. 

The next meeting of Speakeasy Toastmasters will take place on Thursday, 16th May in the Hibernian Hotel Mallow at 8.00PM. As always, guests are welcome and are never compelled to speak, unless they wish to do so. 

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

 

A meeting to savour.

Speakeasy Toastmasters are hosting their Annual Theme Night - "Literary Speaking" - on this Thursday, 2nd May in the Hibernian Hotel Mallow at 7.45 PM for an 8.00PM start. 

The midnight oil has been burned and the speakers are ready. The programme will feature interpretative readings from experienced performers like Michael Cronin, Bridie O'Connell, Loretto Barry, Sean Corcoran, Deirdre Linehan and Bobby Buckley. Each speaker will bring life and meaning to the works of popular Irish writers. Former members Máire Welford and John Dillon will be fondly remembered as Noel O'Connor and Anne Buckley will interpret their writings. It promises to be a night to savour. 

Equally savoury was the fare on display at the last meeting. Taking place on Spy Wednesday, it featured an extraordinary range of speeches that covered topics like doomed love, debauchery, donkey derbies and sleep deprivation. 

Rachel Liston described her curiousity about the blue and white pattern on her aunt's cutlery. She evoked an era when The Willow Pattern was proudly on display in Irish dining rooms but rarely used. "The Willow Legend" told the Chinse tale of the "star-crossed lovers" whose romance was sadly doomed. 

Marriage featured prominently in Michael Cronin's "A life fully lived". Michael introduced his audience to the eventful and outrageous life of Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert. Born in Sligo in 1821,Lisa lived a life, that by modern day standards wouldseem unconventional, but by the standards of her time, were truly extraordinary and debauched. Blazing a trail across four continents, Lisa was a master (or was it mistress? ) of seduction and scandalous affairs with writers, composers and, most infamously,Ludwig 1 of Bavaria. She was well honed in the art of reinvention and rebranded herself as "Lola Montez" whose erotic and revealing "Spider Dance" led to outrage. In short, she lived a life that would make Madonna seem like a nun in an enclosed order. 

Liam Flynn challenged us with his presentation - "Don't be apathetic about apnia". Sleep apnia is a problem that impacts on a sizeable number of Irish people. Simply put, those impacted by it stop breathing while asleep. This causes the heartto produce adrenaline, causing the sleeper to wake up. This can happen several times during the night and leaves the sufferer without proper sleep and unable to function normally. Thankfully, once diagnosed, the condition is treatable with an air pump and face mask which is a small price to pay for curing a serious disorder. 

Liam Flynn, Rachel Liston, Jane Sheehan & Michael Cronin 

Jane Sheehan of Killarney Toastmasters delivered a powerful speech on our unwillingness to listen. "Headphones" addressed our inability to listen with empathy and without prejudice and how non listeners will derail an interaction to impose their own point of view. Jane recalled her childhood joy at winning a donkey derby and how her joy was multiplied in telling her family. She quoted the words of Maya Angeliou - 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did. But people will always remember how you made them feel ". Jane will represent Division B (North Munster) in Irish and Britain Finals I Norwich in May. The Club wishes her the best of good fortune. 

Sean Corcoran, Jane Sheehan & Pat Sexton. 

The Topic Session, ably conducted by Deirdre Linehan, covered a broad range of subjects from the Easter Bunny to bravery, Tiger Woods to umbrellas and from retirement to the joy of making music. Best qoute of the night was "Having spent your life avoiding temptation, you begin to find temptation starts avoiding you". The Best Topic was awarded to Sean Corcoran, with Best Speaker going to Jane Sheehan and Marie Lynes winning Best Evaluation. 

Speakeasy Toastmasters look forward to seeing you at our Theme Night "Literary Speaking" in the Hibernian Hotel Mallow at 7.45 PM on this Thursday night 

For more information about the club, please check out the website speakeasy toastmasters.com or on Facebook.