In these long dark winter nights, we are all drawn to the magic and beauty of light. And the best and brightest and warmest light of all is that which shines in the eyes of people who are happy together, enjoying themselves in each other’s company and sharing in activities that stimulate the mind and broaden the horizons of all.  On the first night of December the members of the Fermoy Toastmasters Club held their penultimate meeting of the season in the Youth Centre. And it was such a joyful and happy occasion, an interlude of good cheer and a celebration of friendship and pleasant listening, of clarity of mind and eloquence of expression, the painting of vivid word pictures and flashes of great laughter that affirm with spirit and enthusiasm everything that is best about being human and the true joy of life.

Our President John Sherlock called the meeting to order with crisp precision and with just a few very well-chosen and genial words made all of us ever so welcome and fully at our ease for the next two hours of entertainment and pleasure. As President, John provides us with encouragement and inspiration on our shared journey of discovery and personal growth in a spirit of mutual goodwill and support, by being thoughtful, pleasant and kind to everyone with his trademark humour and a bracing readiness to try something new and different. Such an outlook is at the heart of all creativity and achievement.

The President in a sense embodies the essence of the club. But in presiding, he does not have to lead and guide every meeting through its various phases and assume the task of introduction and chairmanship. Instead this function is performed by the Toastmaster or host of the evening who carries out these vital functions and who presents all the participants to the meeting, explaining the role of each and outlining the goals and objectives that every speaker is setting out to achieve.  On the night in question, Johanna Hegarty took on this challenge with all of her winning style and eagerness that lit up our evening most joyfully.

We shared the pleasure of three very beautiful speeches. It is always such a blessing to welcome a new speaker with their Icebreaker presentation and we were all so delighted and honoured to hear a voice from so far away in the person of Tricia Neilan from the Sonora Region of Mexico. Life there was good and pleasant but in the hot dry desert climate summertime temperatures can climb to fifty degrees Celsius so that the coolness of the Irish climate is to her quite comfortable and bracing. She told us that it was through her desire to reach out across new horizons both geographical and personal that she came to this country in 2007 where she has worked and settled and made a new and lasting home with the man of her dreams, Seoirse, whom she met and married on a great journey that has now brought her to Fermoy Toastmasters where we bid her a most warm and joyful welcome.

Then Eilish Ui Bhrian gave us a lovely telling of the story of a man from Dingle, Co Kerry who also set off on a great journey from his home among the rugged terrain of the peninsula to make a new life in London. Many hilarious adventures followed, most memorably the night when Michael – the hero of the story – having been brought back by his nurse girlfriend to her quarters, was told to hide away in a quiet room from where he could slip quietly out come morning. But having consumed a few pints and then some, he blissfully overslept only to awake with a start to find a morgue attendant saying to his colleague: ‘Blimey, this one’s not long dead – he’s still warm’.  They must have got quite a shock to see a Kerryman rising from the dead and bolting down the street faster than a Kerry football shooting into the back of the Croke Park net. Delivered with wryness, excellent timing and warm feeling, that speech marked another great triumph for Eilish at the lectern.

Finally Kevin Walsh spoke of great and colourful characters in his late Mother’s native Cappoquin and in his own home town of Fermoy, evoking with particular marked affection the memory of local housepainter Tommy Condon whom he knew and befriended. It was very gratifying to hear something of him and other such figures of the past brought back to life again. Kevin’s speech ran a few minutes overtime but as Timekeeper John Quirke commented afterwards it did not feel that way.

Of course there is a lot more to every Toastmasters meeting than just set speeches. In the topics session everyone is brought in and becomes involved by being either asked to speak off the cuff on a subject about which they have received no prior notice or by way of add-on contributions. It is always the most vibrant and effervescent part of the meeting and could not have been better steered than by Frank O’Driscoll with his light and engagingly pleasant style. Many subjects were touched upon. Two drew particularly memorable responses: John Kelly’s very compelling observation on the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal that once trust has been broken, it is virtually impossible to restore it. Or the question put to Helsa Giles from Mallow Toastmasters that in life’s journey one should never hurry, never worry and always stop to smell the flowers. Helsa rose well to the challenge and her response soon became free-flowing and adroitly thoughtful for which she most deservedly received the ribbon for the Best Topic of the night.

It is not possible here to do justice to the very fine work of our Evaluators, who listen to speakers with a particular attentiveness, carefully access what they have heard and seen, and frame their comments to praise and encourage, never criticising but pointing instead to the path of encouragement and improvement. This task was so well carried through by Michelle O’Brien, Peggy O’Donoghue and Jerry Hennessy, with a very fine and insightful General Evaluation from John Kelly.

Now we look ahead to the final meeting of the year, our annual Tall Tales competition and Christmas party that will be a bi-location event with the light-hearted contest held at the Fermoy Youth Centre and festive treats served afterwards at our old venue, the Grand Hotel. We hope that as many as possible can join us for a great night of entertainment and hospitality. For further information, please contact Eilish Ui Bhriain at 087 1235203 or Kevin Walsh at 058 60100 or log on to our mobile-friendly website toastmastersfermoy.com or find us on Twitter @ FermoyT.