A WARM WELCOME WITH FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

Club President Mary Whelan flanked by Topicsmaster Eilis Ui Bhriain and Toastmaster for the evening John Sherlock at the club meeting ob March 24th 2015.
Club President Mary Whelan flanked by Topicsmaster Eilis Ui Bhriain and Toastmaster for the evening John Sherlock at the club meeting ob March 24th 2015.

It was the week just before the clocks went forward the hour to summertime, the sky after sunset was a rich dark velvety blue, the evening star was gleamed like a beautiful jewel in the west, the crescent moon and the constellations studded the night with their timeless glory. Here on earth the members of the Fermoy Toastmasters Club on the evening of Tuesday, March 24th, came together for their meeting of conviviality and humour, of enjoyment and stimulation, a forum where the stars of friendship and warmth of heart always shine so brightly and cheerily.  As ever our President Mary Whelan bid us all a genial and kindly welcome that instantly set everyone at their ease and in a spirit of looking forward to the promise of the meeting ahead. Anything that is truly good and worthwhile in life can be achieved only with effort and dedication and that is where the pleasure and fulfilment comes from.

This is most worthily exemplified by our Toastmaster and chairman of the evening John Sherlock who also as our Educational Vice President of the year, works tirelessly to put together our fortnightly meeting programmes that sparkle with interest and variety. It is a great and noble achievement in the very finest spirit of so many of his predecessors over the years and one for which he deserves the very highest praise and admiration. It is that commitment and enthusiasm driven by sheer love of the craft and the joy of friends that has sustained our club here in Fermoy throughout four and a half decades.   John guided the proceedings seamlessly forward with immense skill and finesse ensuring a memorably pleasant meeting.

Our topicsmaster, Eilish Ni Bhrian, presented us with a rewarding selection of topics and themes gentle and yet engaging that drew a warm and very fine response from the audience that as always is crucial to the development of a good and happy atmosphere. These included the arrival of springtime turning a young man’s fancy to thoughts of love,  the depths of beauty and wisdom contained in the poetry we tried to learn and remember from our school days and indeed it was so very heartening to listen to members reciting verses that hold a cherished place in their hearts. The retirement of Kilkenny hurling star Henry Shevlin drew a number of very interesting comparisons with other legends of the game from times past, such as Cork’s own Christy Ring. John Kelly recalled his having watched so many of Ring’s masterful performances on the field and contrasting his quiet and humble departure from the game with the media intensity that accompanies the retirement of today’s crop of sports stars. That is the thing about every topics session – you will always hear something new, something that you will take away with you giving food for thought with quiet smiles and mellow reflection long afterwards.

Club members in a relaxed and genial form after another memorable and successful meeting
Club members in a relaxed and genial form after another memorable and successful meeting

We had three very notable speeches to follow, all so remarkably different and varied, yet all coming from the heart and given with proficiency and grace. Beginning with Johanna Hegarty who delivered a spirited and vibrant reading of a short story from the Cork-based author Gerald O’Callaghan, entitled Peas In A Pod, describing a woman’s involvement in a local committee that apparently led through various unfolding pathways to the prospect of holiday romance in a Spanish villa, but as with all good stories which return at the conclusion to their beginning in the title the outcome took a rather unexpected twist. Interpretive reading sets the challenge of taking a literary work and presenting the written word with all the vividness and immediacy of an oral presentation using nuances of language and demonstrative gesture so that the story leaps from the page and becomes fully and colourfully alive in the imagination of the listeners, and this Johanna achieved with great effervescence.

Michael Sheehan then took us far away to the American West in the great frontier days of adventure by recalling the life of the legendary US marshal Batt Masterson, who won immortal fame by taking on so many bad guys in such wild and lawless places as Dodge City and Tombstone, a flamboyant character who loved to gamble and mete out rough justice to troublemakers at the end of a long black cane with a silver top. In a meticulously researched presentation, Michael brought this great hero to life once again and evoked the many films and TV dramas that have been made over the years depicting his extraordinary larger-than-life story that was so compellingly well told by such a highly accomplished master of the art.

Finally, Mairead Barry has always been a very keen admirer of the works of Irish poet Paul Durkan whom she described as a fascinating man of mystery and went on to read one of his later works, Death Of A Corkman with its extraordinary intertwining of different story lines that simultaneously bring the reader from one place and time to another creating ever changing new realities that send out a powerful message about the meaning of life and love. Mairead’s sensitive approach captured the beautiful use of language and sparkling turn of phrase for which Durkan is rightly famous, describing mourners at a funeral moving ‘through the furrows of pews’ that is so richly evocative and descriptive. A pleasure shared with others is increased and enhanced as Mairead brings her joy in literature to our meetings with such warmth and kindness and charm that is so enriching and illuminating that marks her out not only as a very special Toastmaster but as a very dear and special friend to us all.

Every speaker receives the encouragement and help of positive evaluation from Frank O’Driscoll, John Kelly and John Quirke with a final overall impression of the meeting by Kevin Walsh. There are now just a few more meetings left before we rise for the summer recess, still plenty of time for all of us and for those who have never been with us before to enjoy the very special pleasure of a good Toastmasters meeting, as will take place in the Grand Hotel, Fermoy, on Tuesday next, April 7th at 8.15 pm. We look forward to seeing you all. For further information, please contact Fanahan Colbert at 086 8239007 or Kevin Walsh at 058 60100 or log on to toastmastersfermoy.com.

Club members at the March 24th meeting with Peggy O'Donoghue (right)  who was timekeeper on the night.
Club members at the March 24th meeting with Peggy O’Donoghue (right) who was timekeeper on the night.