All posts by John Sherlock

WELCOME TO NEW SEASON OF FERMOY TOASMASTERS

Report by:  KEVIN WALSH

One of the best and happiest things is about to happen:  in the Fermoy Youth Centre on Tuesday evening next, September 5th, at 8.15 pm,  Fermoy Toastmasters launch their NEW SEASON that will go right the way through with fortnightly meetings every second Tuesday to May of next year. We are ready to embark on another great and wonderful journey through warm and convivial togetherness, the advancement of friendship, exciting personal discoveries and a cheerful optimistic spirit charting a fun-filled and delightful course through the months ahead. Every meeting sends you home feeling so good inside for having been there and taken part – that is the magic of it. For there is no better source of good feeling than friends pursuing their shared goals in a warm and genial atmosphere.  Our President, Kevin O’Neil, and all of our members and friends, cordially invites  you to join with us to enjoy and to contribute to the making of many more memorably entertaining and pleasant meetings in the months ahead.

We in Toastmasters are a close but ever openly and warmly welcoming circle of friends and extended family united in warm sentiment and good feeling who rejoice together in all moments of each other’s gladness. We all extend renewed congratulations to our longest serving member not alone here in Fermoy but in Ireland and Britain, John Quirke, who together with his dear wife Josephine celebrated the Golden Jubilee of their marriage this summer and very warmest good wishes for many more years of health, happiness and peace together.

If there is joy, of course there is sadness too as we all come together in mutual support and comfort.  We send our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to Mary Whelan on the passing away from this life of her dear mother-in-law Eileen and also to Tim Fitzgerald on the death of his father-in-law, Ned Barry, which occurred during this past summer.  All of our activities revolve essentially around the spoken word in its preparation, its delivery and to its attentive listening. The poet Emily Dickinson once wrote, “A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day”.  It is rather like that with those whom we love who are no longer with us; they may have passed from the reach of our senses, but not our hearts. Lives lived in this world have not ended, but changed. All that is noble and good in every human being is preserved and glorified to become part of that higher expression of life where we will all gather again beyond all cares and sufferings, in a place of everlasting light and peace.  Nothing can take away the sadness of loss for how can we ever stop missing those whom we loved?  But this awareness of being on a spiritual journey offers so much encouragement and hope knowing that the sadness now will be part of the joy later on the morning side of the hill.

Now as the last of the harvest is gathered in, we come to our time of assembling together in warm feeling and joyful hearts, delighted and happy once again to be in each other’s company.  Soon the gavel will sound again and the meeting is called to order, its familiar traditions and procedures marking off a special interlude of some two hours complete with a chatty quarter-hour tea break when we can all draw away from everyday happenings to share, enjoy and be inspired by the enthusiasm, talent and creative energy that everyone puts into making our meetings so happily bright and successful. Three or four short prepared talks, many spontaneous contributions in the impromptu topics sessions, the enrichment that comes from positive feedback makes for something so very invigorating and refreshing. We are here because we love being here in a shared generosity of spirit. In giving of the very best of ourselves we receive the very most in pleasure, satisfaction, personal fulfilment and a greater happiness that illuminates and enhances every corner of our lives whether at work, home and play.

It is all about the thrill of giving it a go on the way to achieving personal growth and a better and more rewarding life. It is by doing that everyone succeeds. The effort is its own success. The challenge lies in not taking oneself too seriously and with a sense of fun and adventure, there is this endless sense of astonishment and brilliant surprise at just how kind, open-hearted, entertaining and deeply interesting our fellow members and friends are which in turn enables each and every one of us to find the true harvest of richness in ourselves. The more we share the more we receive. It is a place where the individual is celebrated in everything that they are and can be. But no individual is ever alone. There is constant interaction, exchange of ideas, the stimulus of contact and the opening out of new horizons in friendship and mutual support. In Toastmasters we all find our own unique and original voice together with a beautiful sense of belong in a circle of friends. It is a forum where everyone can be themselves and offer something to the rest of us that nobody else ever could for everyone is unique and original.  Just to think that there is no one in the world the same as you and never will be again gives our lives such dignity and meaning.

The art of communication is so wonderful because it comes from the heart. In a very short time guided by the simple step-by-step manual every member receives it is astonishing the progress that everyone makes with a little effort, gaining insights and support from fellow members, each and every one of us learning for ourselves and being so happy in it. I have been in this organisation for quite a few years now. Yet every meeting is something so entirely new and fresh and completely original. Everyone is just so nice, so welcoming and full of kindness and goodwill, so that it is impossible to stay away. Coming to the meetings as a guest, please relax and be at your ease. You will not be asked to speak – unless the spirit moves you!

This cherished club has been flourishing in the heart of our town and wider community for close on fifty years now. It is a vibrant local treasure: one of the oldest clubs in the country, yet full of ever youthful energy and zest.  We are dedicated to building each other up and to having fun together while making a better and more rewarding life. It is stimulating to the mind, opens out new frontiers of possibility and brings an enhanced sense of well-being that puts a new spring in your step.  Now we set out together on our exciting and lovely journey once more with lightness of heart, with warm smiles and good wishes, with the kindest of thoughts and brightest hopes, knowing that we are following in a noble and great tradition that has a simple and beautiful elegance of style and purpose and accomplishment about it that brings out the very finest in us all and makes our lives so much healthier, better and more uplifting and fulfilling in every way. And the more who share this with us, the greater the blessings and the benefits for all.

We hope you will come to our meetings beginning next Tuesday, September 5th at 8.15 in the Fermoy Youth Centre,  and every other alternate Tuesday from then until next May and discover what a glorious feeling it is be part of Fermoy Toastmasters. For further information, please contact Mary Whelan at 087 7971006 or Kevin Walsh at 058 60100 or log on to our mobile-friendly website toastmastersfermoy.com or find us on Twitter @ FermoyT.

AGM OF FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

Report by:  KEVIN WALSH

Fermoy Toastmasters gathered on an evening of glorious sunshine on Tuesday, May 8th, at the usual time of 8.15., in the Fermoy Youth Centre. The quay outside was bustling with activity connected with an athletics race, ducks glided serenely over and came to rest on the placid sparkling waters and it was so lovely to see a crew of four with flashing oars turning their canoe about so adroitly and gracefully in mid-river. The room soon filled with a large attendance, cheerful conversation hummed and frequent bursts of laughter announced happy togetherness.  Our outgoing President Eilish Ui Bhriain sounded the gavel and extended a most cordial and kindly welcome to all in ever congenial and very nice words that set a lovely atmosphere from the very beginning. Like all our evenings, this was a very happy occasion but not untinged with a hint of wistfulness as it was the final time for the moment that Eilish would appear at the top table wearing the Presidential chain of office that she has borne around her shoulders with such style and distinction over these many months and opened her heart to all with such kindness, charm and friendship.

The Top Table:- Eilish Ui Bhriain, wearing the chain of office on the final occasion in her very successful and distinguished tenure as club leader. We hope she will return to the office again in the future. Also pictured: John Sherlock, Toastmaster of the evening. Frank O’ Driscoll (right), Topicsmaster.

The first half of the proceedings followed the normal pattern of topics, speeches and evaluations, with John Sherlock as Toastmaster or chairman guiding things along with ready assurance and genial bonhomie.  A highly original topics session from Frank O’Driscoll in his relaxed and charming style elicited wide and varied contributions that imparted a lively effervescence.  The instant thought, the quick aside, the ready humour and tapping of creative energy is one of the things that make any Toastmasters so very uplifting so that you take away feelings of elation and something positive and enriching. The best and most witty comment came from Tim Fitzgerald, who addressing a topic on how newly-elected French President Emanuel Macron had married his former teacher Brigitte, said that that was the best way to get an approving tick!

The term ‘prinking’ – taking a drink before going out to a social event – was also set before us, marking yet another way in which new words develop and evolve in a living language to reflect ever changing times and realities.  A further innovation was that Frank asked us to imagine a party that had gone wrong but instead of asking this of just one person to speak on for two minutes, floated the idea around the room with everyone offering brief comments of no more than a couple of sentences and then passing it on to the next, so that on an occasion when time was rather short, all present had a chance to have their voices heard and their humour shared and appreciated.

The New Officers Committee 2017-18:- From left, John Sherlock, EVP and Meetings Organiser; Mary Whelan, Vice-President Membership; Johanna Hegarty, Treasurer; Eilish Ui Bhriain, Immediate Past President and ex officio Ctte. Member; Kevin O’Neill, Club President; Denis O’ Briain, Secretary; Back row, Sergeants-at-Arms, responsible for arranging the room for all meetings, Padraig Murphy (left) and Tim Fitzgerald; Conor MacAree, Assistant EVP and Kevin Walsh, PRO.

Two very different and equally beautiful speeches were a sweet pleasure to the listening ear. Angela Ngethe rose to the lectern to give her Icebreaker or Introductory Speech, offering a thoughtful self -portrait to the club. She evoked her native Kenya and the dream she formed there of a new and very different life in Europe, describing what were to her then the strangeness and unfamiliarity of airport boarding procedures and of taking to the air for the very first time. Told with charm and her gentle voice and presence, Angela traced her personal journey through Italy and Sweden before eventually coming to Ireland and – after an interlude in Co. Leitrim – came to settle in Fermoy with her partner and children and of how she finds life here so rewarding and fulfilling. Now she sets out on her new journey in Toastmasters with the support and good wishes of us all while we look forward to the richness and depth of her contribution. In crafting her opening speech, Angela was mentored by Johanna Hegarty with all of her insight, knowledge and skill. Later as evaluator she said what a pleasure it had been to help Angela with her well-organised and illuminating presentation and looking ahead to the future with confidence and optimism.

After an Icebreaker, a key milestone for any member is the Stage Two speech, marking the real setting out in the arts of communication and leadership. We all remember asking ourselves then what would we talk about. I always believe that the best speeches are those derived from personal experience in which it is possible to speak with knowledge and familiarity. Conor MacAree chose this path also to give us a delightful talk on the immense joy and pleasure that he and his dear wife Marie derive from their owning several cats, rightly considered to be an alternative to dogs as humanity’s Best Friend.  He spoke of the independence and the self-reliance of your average feline, their loyalty as great pets together with skill in hunting and keeping the rodent population safely under control and at bay, of the relaxation and sense of comfort they impart as they purr contentedly revelling in their owners’ attention. Jerry Hennessy, as Evaluator, later said as a cat owner himself he was very pleased to see that these mysterious but affectionate creatures had got the recognition that is their due and praised Conor for his most aptly relaxed and gentle presentation.

The ever convivial tea-break was enhanced by a large plate of excellent sandwiches brought to us by our good friends in the Fermoy Youth Centre who are ever so helpful, kindly and attentive all throughout the year and to whom we would like to express a very sincere word of thanks and deepest appreciation and looking forward to seeing them again in the autumn. The AGM proper then began with each of the outgoing club officers rendering an account of their stewardship and answering any questions any member might care to ask.  With an expanding membership and a long string of very successful and entertaining meetings, there was a universal expression of admiration for all that had been achieved.  President Eilish Ui Bhriain expressed her thanks for the most generous help and support she had received and of how the vital strength of the club lies in its encouraging everyone to fully be themselves so as to give of their best and in turn to bring out the very best for the mutual pleasure and advancement of all. Then in a most touching and wonderful gesture she offered gifts as tokens of her very special goodwill and appreciation.

. Eilish Ui Bhriain extends cordial and warm good wishes to Kevin O’Neill after presenting him with the Chain of Office which together with the Club Banner in the background powerfully symbolise the continuity of a great and wonderful tradition in Fermoy, the third longest-established club in Ireland.

To build on those achievements the following new Committee was elected for the year 2017-18:  Club President Kevin O’Neill;  EVP or Meetings Organiser, John Sherlock;  Treasurer Johanna Hegarty; PRO Kevin Walsh; Membership Development Mary Whelan; Denis O’Brien as Secretary.  One of our newest members, Conor MacAree, very graciously accepted the post of Assistant EVP for which we are all most grateful. Both Jerry Hennessy and Fanahan Colbert retired from the Committee with the appreciation of all for their service and looking forward to their continuing active participation and warm friendship. We hope to see you all again at our next meeting on Tuesday, September 5th, 2017 at the Fermoy Youth Centre at 8.15 pm. We wish all our members and friends a safe, pleasant and most enjoyable summer.

JIVING WITH FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

Report by:  KEVIN WALSH

Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain extended very cordial greetings and a most pleasant welcome to all the members and friends of Fermoy Toastmasters on the penultimate regular meeting of our current season on the evening of Tuesday, April 25th, drawing a tellingly immediate contrast between the bright if rather chill conditions outside and the atmosphere of warmth and close togetherness that pervaded the meeting room inside. The role of President is vital in seeing a relaxed and happy keynote from the very outset and Eilish always succeeds in doing this with class and distinction by always finding just the right words combined with a most delightful friendly smile to launch this and every meeting on a bright and successful course for a memorable entertaining and enjoyable couple of hours.

 An interesting study of facial expressions of the Top Table with Eilish Ui Bhriain, Club President, with Toastmaster of the evening, Jerry Hennessy (left) and John Quirke who gave us a scintillating topics session. The legend on the sign proclaims 'Ingenious', the word of the night which members are invited to include in their contributions and speeches.
An interesting study of facial expressions of the Top Table with Eilish Ui Bhriain, Club President, with Toastmaster of the evening, Jerry Hennessy (left) and John Quirke who gave us a scintillating topics session. The legend on the sign proclaims ‘Ingenious’, the word of the night which members are invited to include in their contributions and speeches.

Jerry Hennessy at short notice stepped into the role of Toastmaster or chairman of the meeting which he guided with his gentle affability and uniquely personable style, setting everyone at their ease and introducing the various speakers and participants as the proceedings unfolded. Our Topicsmaster and longest serving club member and Toastmaster in the country with an unbroken record of membership stretching back to the late 1970s, John Quirke, turned in a brilliant performance as he set before us a whole succession of varied, engaging, witty and well-selected topics that really got the meeting humming and bubbling over with creative energy and active enjoyment.  Topics are all about spontaneity and the immediate response, evoking something fresh, bracing and of the moment, getting people thinking, interacting, contributing and above all having fun. If the essence of our craft is getting everyone involved, John’s remarkable wizardry evoked a response from everyone in the room without exception, so that every voice was heard creating a beautiful and life-enhancing pastiche of thought, immediacy and the pure joy of the spoken word that comes straight from the heart and the genial well-springs of the spirit.

Before the tea-break, we had the pleasure of a trio of excellent and very different speeches. Nina Keating rose to give her Stage Two speech with the aim of organising a clear speech outline to make meaning clear and readily understood. With summer in the offing, Nina reminded us of the dangers of overexposure to the rays of the sun which has led to a surge in the rates of often fatal melanoma, touching many families with the loss of loved ones. However she went on to broaden her presentation by considering the impact of sunscreen products which has resulted in depleted levels of Vitamin D which can give rise to serious health risks including ironically a heightened likelihood of serious cancers.  Having sketched the challenge, Nina then offered a simple, direct and commonsense solution in the form of a modest exposure to sunlight for it is the best source of Vitamin D together with the use of a variety of supplements, with product samples displayed on the lectern.  As evaluator Michael Sheehan later said, this was a very topical and informative speech that marks a significant on Nina’s journey into the world of Toastmasters where she is already making so much better and brighter for us all.

Our next speech marked another significant milestone for Padraig Murphy, now attaining his Stage Ten Competent Communicator Award from World Headquarters, his assignment focusing on motivation of the audience.  He evoked a childhood surrounded by a great hurling tradition of and of his early experience as a team captain which left him feeling with a desire to have done more on the playing field. But no experience in life is ever wasted if you can take something positive from it and in this regard years later Padraig came to Toastmasters looking for a new avenue to personal growth and enhanced achievement. Working through the stages of the manual and enjoying the mutually supportive and friendly environment of the club, he feels so rightly happy now for all that he has attained, bringing a new richness to his work, family life and hobbies. Padraig told of taking part in a motivational workshop and being asked by the presenter to come up and speak which he did with confidence and effectiveness, while also citing his enjoyment of the role as Best Man at a number of weddings and most poignantly of having delivered a heartfelt funeral oration to the cherished memory of his dear Mother. The talents he has cultivated here have served him well in embracing all aspects of life. Padraig concluded by saying he wished he could be that captain again. But today he is so much more than that, a shining star of our inspiration, a brilliant Toastmaster and a very good friend to all of us, receiving a warm evaluation from Frank O’Driscoll who complimented him on a very fine speech that was so full of enthusiasm and a celebration of just how far the desire to improve can take any of us.

 Mary Whelan and Kevin O'Neill prepare to jive as part of Kevin's speech about dancing at the April 25th meeting. Warm smiles speak volumes of how much this occasion was being so much enjoyed with the very greatest pleasure shared by all.
Mary Whelan and Kevin O’Neill prepare to jive as part of Kevin’s speech about dancing at the April 25th meeting. Warm smiles speak volumes of how much this occasion was being so much enjoyed with the very greatest pleasure shared by all.

Our EVP and Meetings Organiser, Kevin O’Neill also brought great enthusiasm and gusto to his presentation on his keen love of dancing in which he takes ongoing regular lessons. He traced the origins and history of jive in the United States in the early 20th century, its popularity carried by the arrival of millions of American soldiers in Europe during the Second World War, remaining one of the most loved dance forms today. Actions speak louder than words and with the ever lovely and charming Mary Whelan as partner and appropriate musical accompaniment, we were treated to a wonderful display of graceful movement and lightness of turn that brought joy and pleasure to all as we clapped and cheered them both along.  Kevin spoke of the benefits of taking part in dance lessons: reduced stress, the need to retain all the movements boosts memory, elevating mood and making for a happier life. Just like membership of Toastmasters in fact. Evaluator Fanahan Colbert praised Kevin for the inspiration he gave by sharing his love of this wonderful art.

 Tim Fitzgerald stands at the lectern delivering his overall impression as General Evaluator of the meeting.
Tim Fitzgerald stands at the lectern delivering his overall impression as General Evaluator of the meeting.

General Evaluator Tim Fitzgerald thanked everyone for a hugely enjoyable meeting and of the fulfilment he has obtained from Toastmasters’ membership, very generously citing club greeter Kevin Walsh for the warmth of the welcome that he constantly extends to everyone and which Tim said kept him coming to our meetings where he has proved himself an outstanding member and is admired and cherished by all of us for his geniality and kindness. Warm welcome, generosity of spirit, the pleasure of great speaking and listening, the joy of friends happy and having fun together: these all serve to make our meetings so special and so happy. Our next gathering which will also include our AGM will take place on Tuesday evening next, May 9th, at 8.15 pm in the Fermoy Youth Centre, to which we so very gladly look forward. 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.

IMPRESSIONS OF A SPEECH CONTEST

Report by:  KEVIN WALSH

Not anticipating any such requirement I did not keep any notes of the Toastmasters Divisional Speech Contest on the afternoon of Saturday, April 8th in Limerick’s Castletroy Park Hotel.  So I can only try to paint a decidedly very incomplete and rather patchy impressionist word picture of that occasion, sketching the bright colours of just a very few things that retain a vivid freshness and clarity in my recollection. A selection of images that is entirely personal, for of course with such an overwhelming tidal wave of talent, creativity and excellent presentation, so much is now shrouded in blurred mists but flecked here and there by beams that touched a receptive chord. Our minds can only assimilate so much information which is what Patrick Kavanagh was referring to no doubt when he said that it takes a whole lifetime just to get to know even one corner of a field. However it is always very satisfying to try to capture something transient and fleeting from the ceaseless flux of life and to give it an element of permanence through the written word, especially when the occasion so remembered was one of such great enjoyment and pleasure.

That day the audience were treated to eight speeches of an exceptionally high standard of eloquence, illumination and distinction, telling of how so many people today have become ever more articulate and enhanced in confidence and assurance, offering powerful testimony to the success of our organisation promoting personal growth and development through the building of skills in communication and leadership in mutual good fellowship and support. Combined with an evaluation contest which featured some nine contestants the event was an epic of thought, listening and speech, more than twice the length of a normal two hour Toastmasters meeting.

It was a gloriously fine day as we crossed the serene Blackwater at Fermoy and followed the sun-drenched road towards the Treaty City passing the landmark towns and villages of Mitchelstown, Hospital and Caherconlish, making excellent time in the sultry conditions notwithstanding our encountering a number of slow-moving vehicles along the way. Everywhere looks so pretty and attractive in brilliant sunshine; the sunlight glinting on the great spinning blades of wind turbines standing tall and majestic on a high tree-encrusted ridge were particularly impressive.17862697_1712663432078869_5557170972990236741_n

The contest was held in a large spacious room normally used one imagined for wedding receptions for doorways along the entrance hallway were adorned with white drapery appropriate for such occasions.  The Division B Director Patricia O’Connell extended warm greetings and genial welcome to all and introduced the Contest Chair for the afternoon, Gerard Mannix who guided proceedings forward with charm and aplomb, while Willie Grace acted as Topicsmaster. It is always much more difficult to manage a successful topics session with a gathering of Toastmasters drawn from a wide area and from many different clubs who are unknown to the Topicsmaster, but as befits his delightful surname Willie rose to this challenge with true precision and grace.

Having been drawn first in the order of speakers I felt it necessary to settle to the occasion by contributing to a topic on one’s favourite book, evoking that great novel The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa which describes the declining fortunes of a once powerful ducal family in mid-19th century Sicily set against the background of upheavals accompanying the struggle for Italian national reunification, the Risorgimento. Especially I recall the chapter describing the passing of the old Duke who after a rather unhappy love life falls ill in a Neapolitan hotel room where the angel of death comes to him not as a dark sinister figure but a highly beautiful young woman: what makes the story especially poignant is that its author was himself a dying man who never lived to see his work published. I was very gratified that several people approached me afterwards with pen and notepaper in hand to write down the book title and author’s name so that they too might have the pleasure of reading it for themselves. A pleasure shared is not diluted but greatly increased.

And while on the subject of reading, one lady in attendance that day told me she had to leave at the tea-break to make the two and a half hour drive back to a church in Swords in County Dublin to read the part of the narrator in the Gospel of the Lord’s Passion in the evening vigil Mass for Palm Sunday, explaining that none could be found to substitute. Her laudable dedication and commitment was a powerful reminder of the sacred time of year that was in it, the holiest season of Easter, with its deeply moving rituals around suffering and renewal, of light shining in the darkness, which helps us to cope with life’s complexities and mysteries from which indeed the contents of the afternoon’s speeches were also distilled and shone a revealing light of hope and inspiration.

I can only bring you just a few scattered images of a selection of the speeches. Having been drawn first in the order of speakers, I went to the lectern recalling how I was safely born into this world against overwhelming medical odds right at the very beginning of the 1960s, that most optimistic of decades of the last century, full at the outset of the generous vision and imagination of great leaders like President John F. Kennedy and Pope John XXIII, with new sounds from Elvis Presley and the Beatles  that brought energy and joy to the lives of millions, while the coming of television into our living-rooms with the signature tunes of popular programmes like Daniel Boone remain always evergreen in affectionate memory.  And as history unfolded in the wider world, the little boy played and was happy and surrounded by so much love, so that his heart and every heart that is truly loved  never grows old or weary but finds the eternal youthfulness of living, simply living.

Tricia Healy of Tralee took us to the end of life, to the reality of death which she approached in a most thoughtful and sensitive way, so that her profound and insightful speech was not at all gloomy or morbid – words indeed that she held up in cards before the audience as ones that should be put aside when it comes to this – but rather as something inevitable, peaceful, the end of all suffering and pain, indeed as something that is utterly and entirely natural and even quite beautiful.17800076_1386265528079134_1023869950954183611_n

Bobby Buckley of Mallow is a man of distinguished appearance, polished style and immense personal charm, all of which shone through in his magnificent presentation on the theme of all things sublime, calling to mind how the rhythm of life is such a powerful beat, the beat of the long distance athlete that he once was striding forward with vigour and determination through the verdant 1950sw countryside. He referred to that wonderful film Chariots Of Fire and the truly sublime music of Vangelis accompanying the young runners of another era long gone as they sprinted and splashed through the waters along the shoreline in the pursuit of excellence which he held up to us all as the worthy and true purpose of our lives.

As the contest rolled on, outside the sun was beating down with brilliance and warm glory, while Frank McKenna delivered a very fine speech all about rain, seeing it not as most people do as something ever unpleasant or inconvenient, but as the bringer of life to the earth and describing the pleasure of its soft gentleness playing around your cheeks or its steady murmur on the roof humming you to restful sleep.

After the tea-break with its opportunity for convivial chat and the meeting of friends so dearly familiar and of others encountered for the very first time which is always which fills the heart with a deep and lasting glow of warmth and inner peace: moreover there were a few moments to venture out the open glass-panelled doors into the courtyard outside and absorb some of that delightful cloudless spring sunshine. Indeed I am deeply grateful for all those friends who came to cheer me on and offer support that day.

Then it was back to the Evaluation Contest where in the test speech we listened to a gentleman tell us of how he loves to go down to the seas again, his passion for boats and the management of sails, rigging and helm, that saltiness that gets into someone’s blood and makes them find a fulfilment and serenity on the open seas with endless sky, immensity of waters and infinity of stars nothing else on the world of dry land, recounting adventures indeed when sailing in the Bristol Channel and in Carlingford Lough that brought him some memorable encounters with British military and naval patrol boats while the Northern conflict still simmered. But if such events were conspicuous by their rarity, he vividly described the sea constantly serving up its own drama of glassy smooth calmness and the roaring crescendo of huge foaming waves roiling and crashing against the rocks. The portrayal of the sea in all its moods was the subject of nine very incisive and may one even say of in-depth evaluations.

Tricia Healy of Tralee was the richly-merited winner of the Speech Contest and warmest good wishes to her on the next stage of her contest journey in Manchester in mid-May. If further details are desired of the Divisional Contest, am sure these can be found elsewhere online.  As already said, this is not an account, but a mere impression of an event so filled with talent, enthusiasm, richness of insight, painstaking preparation and effort, the distillation of beautiful thought and the giving and sharing of the very best that everyone could do with utter conviction and in a spirit of optimism all accomplished with such skill and understanding that even a visit to the shadows of death was made into something hopeful and blessed with a sense of peace.

One lady answered a topic on getting up in the morning, recalling her countless juvenile risings from slumber as a boarding school student governed by the imperious command of the bell resonating shrilly down the corridor summoning her and all the other girls to Mass and then to class and the rhythms of another day of learning and trying to do their best while having lots of fun along the way. That habit of eagerly rising into the excitement of each day, she said, remains with her yet and is the guiding star of every morning and the hope ever pointing towards another tomorrow filled with promise and things of enlivening interest.18010024_10208533368282690_5737417436317952566_n

I had spoken of the summers of love of the Sixties and growing up in Fermoy. Back then as now the familiar shapes of the Galtee Mountains dominated the local northern skyline with the long flat-topped peak of Galtymore when gleaming in winter snow always resembled Mount Fujiyama in Japan. On the way home that evening we approached the Galtees from the farther side where they looked so different, gentle, rolling and majestic under the azure spring sky.  Something so familiar made to look so very different just by a change of the point of view and in an altered light of perception. In Toastmasters we are all given new, vivid, engaging, refreshing and mind-broadening different views on life all the time. We got them that day in Limerick as we constantly do in our club meetings. Let us continue on that great shared journey together so that even in the days of rain, we can still generate our own sunshine.

ALL IN A TRIFLE AT FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

Report by:  KEVIN WALSH

On Tuesday, April 11th, Fermoy Toastmasters gathered in a festive pre-Easter mood at the riverside Youth Centre for a memorably enjoyable and entertaining meeting, everyone joyfully looking forward to an evening of good cheer, to the warming of hearts and the tending the gardens of the mind with the gladness of friends happy to be once more in each other’s company. Wearing the chain of office bearing the names of her illustrious predecessors and richly symbolising the proud traditions of this club, President Eilish Ui Bhriain extended a joyful welcome and expressed her pleasure at seeing such a large attendance on a bright and clear spring evening.  She also paid generous compliments to Kevin Walsh for his attaining Third Place in the Divisional Speech Contest in Limerick the preceding Saturday and also to Helsa Giles of Mallow Club on her receiving the Toastmaster Of The Year Award at the same occasion for her outstanding contribution to the advancement of our organisation.

 Another view of the Top Table at the same occasion. Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain wears the chain of office inscribed with the names of so many of her predecessors and which symbolises continuity and tradition, a living legacy of personal growth and accomplishment to which which we all strive to add our own unique contribution as we transmit it to an optimistic future. Michael Sheehan (left) prepares to guide proceedings along with the artistry and accomplishment of vast experience while Con MacAree (right) makes a very fine debut as Topicsmaster. The knowledge and wisdom of long-established members combining with the eager freshness of the new imparts to all of the club's shared activities a powerful exuberance and zest which raises us all in mutual progress and enjoyment.
Another view of the Top Table at the same occasion. Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain wears the chain of office inscribed with the names of so many of her predecessors and which symbolises continuity and tradition, a living legacy of personal growth and accomplishment to which which we all strive to add our own unique contribution as we transmit it to an optimistic future. Michael Sheehan (left) prepares to guide proceedings along with the artistry and accomplishment of vast experience while Con MacAree (right) makes a very fine debut as Topicsmaster. The knowledge and wisdom of long-established members combining with the eager freshness of the new imparts to all of the club’s shared activities a powerful exuberance and zest which raises us all in mutual progress and enjoyment.

Proceedings were then guided along so skilfully and adroitly by Michael Sheehan as Toastmaster or chairman of the evening, a role to which he always brings his unique and very special kind of charm and wit. Every meeting is a time of invigorating new beginnings and this was celebrated in a very special way as husband and wife Conor and Marie MacAree took on the functions of Topicsmaster and Timekeeper respectively in which they both turned in very fine and outstanding performances.

With warmth and clear enjoyment, Conor set before us an excellent and well-chosen selection of themes that evoked a keen and bracing response in both topics sessions, the first held immediately prior to the set speeches and the second commencing just after the tea break, evoking very warm and lively responses as everyone became actively involved and fully participating, with issues ranging from imagining a different national leader for the country after Enda Kenny’s much anticipated retirement, on ways you would like to see the country improved, whether Ireland was still living up to its tradition as an island of the welcomes, on the opposing qualities of fresh and processed foods. Then too the question of a hard Border in the coming post-Brexit era was raised, which was most astutely answered by John Quirke that whatever either the British Government in London or the EU mandarins in Brussels may desire, the geography, shrewdness and ingenuity of the people who live along that vast region will see to it that any Border controls put in place will offer little hindrance to everyday living.  All the while Marie performed her vital role with admirable precision and accuracy.

The first of our three stage speeches saw Michelle O’Brien take on the challenge of using appropriate and fluid gestures to emphasise the speaker’s message. Bringing all of her very fine intellect to bear on the theme of leadership in our times, she pointed up the widespread disillusionment with political leadership almost everywhere today, emphasising the need for leaders to use emotional intelligence; that a leader must not be a boss so much as articulating a vision of hope and optimism and radiating a passionate belief in what they stand for. She identified Hilary Clinton’s electoral failure in her disconnectedness from too many ordinary Americans; or the dogmatic approach of Phil Hogan to the introduction of water charges here that sparked such enormous controversy defeating what he was trying to achieve. Michelle held out the example of the successful team work and shared vision bringing out the best in everyone which is the hallmark of the highly successful company for whom she works. Motivation is the key to success and as her evaluator John Sherlock pointed out later it helps a lot in that regard by making a good first impression with a warm friendly smile as Michelle did so well at the very outset.

.Patricia O'Connell of Mallow Toastmasters relaxes after giving her comic After Dinner speech to the club meeting on April 11th 2017. The empty seats in the background reveal that all have gone for their trifles and teas, but there was plenty for Patricia and for everyone to enjoy!
.Patricia O’Connell of Mallow Toastmasters relaxes after giving her comic After Dinner speech to the club meeting on April 11th 2017. The empty seats in the background reveal that all have gone for their trifles and teas, but there was plenty for Patricia and for everyone to enjoy!

Indeed the nature of friendship was to form the basis of a very pleasing light, whimsical and fantasy-filled After Dinner-type speech by our most welcome visitor from Mallow Club, Patricia O’Connell,  on the lives of two imaginary but very colourful friends, the first a care home assistant who delights in making Happy Cookies that stirred the elderly residents form apathetic listlessness into such convulsive waves of laughter and exuberance that one was left wondering if this might not be a most efficacious treatment in real life.  The second friend conjured from the world of make-believe was The Banker who used a heavy bag of coins to make short shrift of an attempted robbery.  As was so well said later by her evaluator Denis O’Brien, Patricia’s speech was delivered in an engagingly relaxed style and was highly entertaining, serving to remind us yet again of how membership of Toastmasters allows us all to explore our creativity in in original and fun-loving ways with mutual support and goodwill that makes us truly better and happier people.

Denis O'Brien carefully prepares his evaluation of Patrica O'Connell's speech.
Denis O’Brien carefully prepares his evaluation of Patrica O’Connell’s speech.

And we were all truly happier people after our third and final talk of the evening from Jerry Hennessy, telling of the long history of trifle as a very popular dessert in the country houses of the old gentry, often served to distinguished guests such as the local parson, the sherry added most copiously to the dish on top of all the port already consumed, a fact which supplied Jerry’s speech title: The Tipsy Parson. But Jerry’s interest in making trifle derives from his friendship with our cherished Aunt Mercy in Fermoy who for many years with such exquisite skill and using a traditional recipe of our late Grandmother, Pauline Sargent of Cappoquin, in which jelly is omitted completely and a remarkably delicious cocktail of jam Swiss roll, tinned fruit, syrup, custard, soft whipped cream and sherry is brought together to make a light, delicate, absolutely gorgeous and beautiful post-prandial pleasure. Following Gay Byrne’s famous catchphrase that there’s one for everyone in the audience, a large box was thrown open to reveal a whole raft of elegant dishes filled with glorious trifle for everyone’s enjoyment, making the following tea break an especially mouth-watering affair. No better person than Jerry’s evaluator Helsa Giles – herself such an accomplished gastronome – who congratulated him on this magnificent presentation made with such an immense loving effort and given to us all in such a wonderfully generous spirit, the same spirit with which dear Mercy has ever shared her mastery of this most delicious dessert creation.

Helsa Giles (left) and Mary Whelan congratulate Jerry Hennessy on the gorgeous trifle desserts he prepared for the club meeting, April 11th 2017.
Helsa Giles (left) and Mary Whelan congratulate Jerry Hennessy on the gorgeous trifle desserts he prepared for the club meeting, April 11th 2017.

Our General Evaluator Mary Whelan summed up very succinctly and cheerily what had been a most delightful and truly festive meeting celebrating all that is best in life. Only a few more meetings remain before the summer recess begins. But we can all look forward most warmly to the pleasure of our next gathering in the Fermoy Youth Centre on this coming Tuesday, April 25th, at 8.15 pm. 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.comor find us on Twitter @ FermoyT.

TEST DRIVE FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

On the evening of Tuesday, March 28th, the members of Fermoy Toastmasters gathered amid warm greetings and expressions of mutual good wishes that is the hallmark of our club as a place of happiness and friendship. As can sometimes happen, some of our most faithful members were unable to join us due to various circumstances beyond their control, yet we assembled in good numbers and with eager cheerfulness and cordial sentiment ensured a memorably a memorably pleasant and genial gathering.  Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain expressed congratulations to Kevin Walsh on his recent win in the Area Speech Contest in Mallow with his speech evoking a happy Sixties childhood and on behalf of all expressed good wishes to him in the Divisional Contest in Limerick.

 With relaxed warm smiles Club President Eilish Ui Bhrian presides on March 28th 2017, flanked by Topicsmaster Mary Whelan (right) and Toastmaster of the evening, John Kelly.
With relaxed warm smiles Club President Eilish Ui Bhrian presides on March 28th 2017, flanked by Topicsmaster Mary Whelan (right) and Toastmaster of the evening, John Kelly.

Chairing a meeting is an art that requires precision and affability.  At very short notice one of our most popular and distinguished members, John Kelly, seamlessly took on that role, radiating warmth, charm and a winning relaxed style that made for a truly great evening. Mary Whelan then came to the lectern offering her special take on the spontaneity and liveliness of topics where members are asked to speak off the cuff on a theme about which they have received no prior notice. With polished ease and grace, Mary offered us one gentle challenge after another and quickly got everyone involved and actively participating, sharing their ideas and experiences, offering their own unique and enriching insights, in a process of mutual interaction that soon filled the room with beautiful creative energy and enlivening eagerness.

Memories of childhood snowfalls, whether the recent St. Patrick’s Day festivities expressed the diversity and variety of Irish society and culture today; apart from Cork, what was your favourite county in Ireland; the old courtesy of opening doors for ladies and the merits of couples sharing the costs of their first date, not to mention the inevitable Donald Trump and his antipathy to the American media.  With one topics session before the mid-point tea break and the second afterwards, this was a hugely enjoyable and masterful display of all that is best and most wonderful about Toastmasters.

 Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain shares a cup of tea and genial chat with our newest member, Angela Negethe, during the tea-break of the club meeting on March 28th 2017.
Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain shares a cup of tea and genial chat with our newest member, Angela Negethe, during the tea-break of the club meeting on March 28th 2017.

Michael Sheehan was her first set speaker of the night, an exceptional Toastmaster and a very good friend. There is a saying that ‘the willing helper does not wait to be called’, and Michael most generously gave me a lift when otherwise I would have been precluded from attending. And that was not all he brought to our meeting but also a showcase interpretive reading presentation whereby the member is asked to take a work of poetry or prose from a famous writer of past or present and to make it come alive for the listeners. Seated beside the lectern Michael gave a notably exuberant and colourful reading of Percy French’s poem Carmody’s Mare. Beginning with a brief introduction on the life of this great Irish writer and composer of popular ballads, with fluid gesture and dynamic vocal variety the scene of a late Victorian race meeting was vividly recreated to the imagination, the initial dismay as the horse seemed to falter at the outset yielding to palpable excitement as the winning post was triumphantly passed, with Evaluator John Quirke recording the listening pleasure of us all.

Our next speaker was John Sherlock who told us of the design and variety of the tower cranes that dominated our urban skylines during the boom years, almost entirely disappearing when the recession hit to their more recent emphatic return, a true economic weather vane. These huge machines with their girders and gantries are never ungainly but are possessed of an ineffable majesty of scale and design as they turn and swing to and fro against the sky, each marking a great building project and powerfully symbolic of optimism and hope. All of this and more John so lucidly illustrated with diagrams and representations so skilfully drawn by him on the flip-chart, for which he received the warm and richly-merited plaudits of Evaluator Mairead Barry.

Clare Guy gave us a well-crafted and excellent speech on the way too many scientists have abandoned the study of the natural world in favour of an excessive over-use of computers and internet, no longer examining at first hand the flowers that grow and smelling the roses, the frogs that leap in tranquil ponds, the dolphins that swim so gracefully around our coasts and estuaries.  With impeccable research and illuminated by quotations going right back to the brilliant early pioneers of modern natural sciences like Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, delivered with confidence and poise, on a subject about which she cares deeply as being herself an accomplished botanist, this was a very fine speech indeed.  The manual stipulated the speaker should strive to do without notes; Clare did not need any and stood apart from the lectern establishing a close rapport with the audience and told us in clear and simple terms how if you love nature, then you must seek out the waters and the wild. A positive and thoughtful evaluation was given by Kevin Walsh.

Our fourth and final speaker was Kevin O’Neil who gave us a fascinating talk on the life and times of legendary carmaker Henry Ford, whose ancestors migrated from Somerset, England to West Cork and eventually on to the United States where he spearheaded a revolutionary transformation of assembly line manufacture, launching in 1908 the classic Model T, which to this day still holds the record as the world’s highest selling car. ‘You can have it in any colour as long as it’s black’, he famously remarked because black paint dried quickest enabling new cars to be moved swiftly off the production line.  Ford tripled his workers’ pay from the standard industrial wage of the time to some five dollars an hour, explaining that he wanted his employees to buy his cars. The early price tag was some 800 dollars, later falling to a mere 300. Using illustrations of Ford and his automobiles, this very fine speech by Kevin was a handshake across time to a brilliant industrialist who not only put America but the whole world on wheels.  Michelle O’Brien well evaluated this speech for its range and accomplishment, while Eilish Ui Bhriain as General Evaluator spoke of the value and uniqueness of every contribution that made for such a lovely and uplifting meeting.

 Some of the attendance at the March 28th meeting in the Fermoy Youth Centre, including in front row Marie McAree (left), her husband Conor (centre) and Nina Keating, acting as Timekeeper. All three have joined us in recent months and we warmly welcome and look forward to their participation, support and friendship. Everyone has a unique and invaluable contribution to make to our club.
Some of the attendance at the March 28th meeting in the Fermoy Youth Centre, including in front row Marie McAree (left), her husband Conor (centre) and Nina Keating, acting as Timekeeper. All three have joined us in recent months and we warmly welcome and look forward to their participation, support and friendship. Everyone has a unique and invaluable contribution to make to our club.

A warm handshake into a better and more enjoyable life awaits you at our next meeting on this coming Tuesday, April 11th, at 8.15 in the Fermoy Youth Centre. 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.

CONTEST NIGHT AT FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

Fermoy Toastmasters celebrated the highlight of their year on Tuesday evening, March 14th, with the annual Club Speech and Evaluations Contest.  In a very special way this event affirms our belonging to the vast worldwide family of Toastmasters bearing the official designation of International Speech Contest which extends into every local club across so many countries and continents reaching a climax at the World Contest held every August, most usually at an American or sometimes Canadian venue. It is a scintillating evening and once again this year we were joined by judges from the Mallow and Bandon Clubs marking emphatically that this event is not just confined to any one club alone, but belongs to us all. There was a great sense of occasion and eager looking forward to our contestants giving voice and expression to our very highest ideals.

Club Greeter Kevin Walsh is joined and ably assisted by Mairead Barry over a very pleasant chat at the March 14th gathering.
Club Greeter Kevin Walsh is joined and ably assisted by Mairead Barry over a very pleasant chat at the March 14th gathering.

President Eilish Ui Bhriain extended a hearty and warm welcome to everyone. Our Toastmaster of Chairman of the evening was David Walsh who guided the proceedings forward in a most affable, brisk and assured manner: a well-run meeting evokes the best from everyone. Topicsmaster John Kelly with all of his charm, grace and warmly pleasant style offered a number of engaging, humorous, whimsical and entertaining topics and themes to the meeting that got everyone thinking, contributing and fostering a highly receptive and happy atmosphere in the room.

Then it was time for the contest to begin, the order of speakers having been drawn before the outset.  Time is always an essential discipline in Toastmasters but never more so than at speech contests with entries strictly limited to seven minutes, with the green light coming on at five minutes, amber at six and red at seven, giving participants just thirty seconds’ grace to finish. There is also a minimum time limit of four and a half minutes for the whole emphasis is on making sure that the allocation is entirely and fully utilised. Our timekeepers Claire Guy and Trisha Neilan performed their task with admirable care and precision. Judges throughout the room marked their scoresheets and later these were gathered and counted together with the timekeepers’ report which is given to the Chief Judge Johann Hegarty to verify accuracy and fairness.

Jerry Hennessy looks up with a warm smile after receiving his Certificate of Participation in the March 14th Club Speech contest.
Jerry Hennessy looks up with a warm smile after receiving his Certificate of Participation in the March 14th Club Speech contest.

Our first contestant was Jerry Hennessy with a very well-crafted speech on the veteran showband of the early 1960s, The Silver Tones, headed up by Eamon Keane.  Having achieved just modest success by 1970 it was seriously floundering. However it was then completely renamed and reinvented as The Indians who presented themselves in the feathered headdresses and fringed outfits so familiar to generations of western-loving cinema-goers along with a repertoire of catchy and thoughtful songs that resulted in an enduring popularity with many dedicated fans, of whom Jerry is one, bringing pleasure and entertainment right around the country.

Kevin Walsh also spoke on a Sixties’ theme, evoking some of the great events and the popular culture of that time but above all a very happy childhood which leaves him with a richness of warm and wonderful memories and a ready affinity for this exciting era. Eilish Ui Bhriain spoke out of her great and abiding love of all things Irish, focusing on the remarkable life and immense scholarship of An tAthair Peader O’Laoghaire,  who served as parish priest of Castlelyons for many years and whose early childhood was scarred by visceral memories of the Famine times where he saw people dying helplessly by the riverside or tearing ravenously at any food scraps they could find, as recorded in his classic biography Mo Sgeal Fein. Eilish told of how later scholarship came to view him unkindly as a peevish and irascible personality, but from his writings she reclaims the true genial warmth of his personality driven by a passionate devotion to our national language and heritage.  Finally, Seorise Neilan depicted the American game of baseball, tracing its origins and development, bringing to the lectern a player’s glove and helmet, telling of its immense popularity and some of its past great exponents, especially the legendary Babe Ruth, and looking forward to a time when perhaps with Ireland’s great sporting prowess a baseball team of our own might someday challenge for the World Series.

 Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain presents First Prize to Kevin Walsh in the Speech Contest.
Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain presents First Prize to Kevin Walsh in the Speech Contest.

After the tea break, the Evaluations Contest began where a guest speaker delivers a test speech which is then assessed by a number of evaluators who afterwards withdraw from the room and are recalled one by one to give their views on what they have heard, offering positive feedback and recommendations for future improvement. Liam O’Flynn of Mallow Club gave a fascinating talk on the impact on the natural world of the wiping out by hunting and over-fishing of predators such as wolves in Yellowstone National Park, sea otters in the northern Pacific Aleutian Islands or whales throughout the world’s oceans giving rise to very serious problems with disruption to the food chain and exploding numbers of parasitic species. Insofar as possible measures were taken to save or reintroduce the lost predators or mammals restoring the natural balance allowing life to flourish again in all its original richness and diversity. It is impossible to do justice here to this hugely enlightening speech which was a most memorable listening pleasure. Evaluators Michael Sheehan, Mary Whelan and John Quirke each in turn gave their considered views, with a particularly magisterial assessment from Michael Sheehan for which he received First Prize, with John Quirke as an excellent Runner-Up.

 Eilish Ui Bhriain makes a presentation to Guest Speaker Liam O'Flynn in recognition of his outstanding speech on the natural world in the Evaluation Contest.
Eilish Ui Bhriain makes a presentation to Guest Speaker Liam O’Flynn in recognition of his outstanding speech on the natural world in the Evaluation Contest.

Then it was time to announce the winners of the Speech Contest which saw Kevin Walsh and Eilish Ui Bhriain emerge in First and Second Place, to represent Fermoy at the Area Contest in Mallow on the 23rd, together with the contestants in the Evaluations category. The evening was a great celebration of our arts of clear thinking, proficient expression and engaging listening in an atmosphere of warm friendship and mutual support.  As are all our meetings: supremely happy occasions of immense pleasure, enjoyment and delight blending personal development with great fun. And it is all there for you once again at our next meeting on this coming Tuesday, March 28th, in the Fermoy Youth Centre at 8.15 pm. 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.

THE VERY BEST OF FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

It was a case of sharing the love at the St. Valentine’s Night meeting of Fermoy Toastmasters in the genial and ever welcoming riverside Youth Centre. Our President Eilish Ui Bhriain shared with all of us the pleasures of delightful chocolates that are so traditional on this occasion when romance and love are celebrated and then having called the meeting to order announced that there was no better place than to be than here with such special and wonderful friends. She praised the club as a forum where speaking from the heart is valued and appreciated. For we come together for our mutual enjoyment and ever greater personal growth that leads to a happier, healthier and better life. Friends together can accomplish anything.

   Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain presides at our St. Valentine's Night gathering with Topicsmaster Michelle O'Brien and Toastmaster/ Chairman John Kelly.
Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain presides at our St. Valentine’s Night gathering with Topicsmaster Michelle O’Brien and Toastmaster/ Chairman John Kelly.

      At every meeting John Sherlock most kindly brings a packet of mints for Kevin Walsh to sooth and ease his often delicate throat. On this night John sadly could not be with us because of a family bereavement, but in an act of the most touching thoughtfulness and kindness he still arranged for Kevin to have these mints. Now that is an example of the very greatest and most heart-warming goodness in action. We look forward to seeing John again very soon while our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

      The club represents a huge reservoir of talent, experience, wisdom and skill that can be most liberally and advantageously drawn upon.  At very short notice, John Kelly assumed the control of the meeting as Toastmaster or chairman of the proceedings for the next two hours, a task that he carried through with all of his inimitable charm, grace and affability. A meeting that is chaired well goes well and brings out the very finest in everyone as John so brilliantly succeeded in doing that evening. Careful and precise timekeeping was also observed throughout by Fanahan Colbert, keeping everything on track and ensuring everyone gets their fair chance to share and contribute.

      Michelle O’Brien came to the lectern as Topicsmaster and brought to us a lovely selection of thoughtful themes and engaging subjects that got everyone actively involved and speaking off-the-cuff spontaneously, naturally and readily as we all discover within ourselves a delightful richness of ideas, feelings and insights that is ever so invigorating and uplifting. There is such an immediacy and freshness about it all.  Indeed what defines this organisation and marks its essential uniqueness is the level of direct involvement and participation offering challenge but also bringing lasting pleasure and satisfaction. This is the moment when those members not on the prearranged programme get their chance to take part and to be heard.

      We were overjoyed and most impressed by the debut response of Nina Keating who gave a beautiful and most eloquent response to a topic on whether a good career path is better than having someone to hold. While acknowledging the importance of success and fulfilment at work she upheld the lasting happiness and blessing that comes from human closeness and warmth and also through other ways such as making room in one’s heart for an animal. She reminded us that when Dog is turned round it spells God.  It was such a lovely and delightful contribution for which Nina won the ribbon for Best Topic of the evening.

Fanahan Cobert keeps an eye on the clock and the lights as Timekeeper at our meeting of February 14th 2017.
Fanahan Cobert keeps an eye on the clock and the lights as Timekeeper at our meeting of February 14th 2017.

     Our four set speakers turned in truly star performances.  The wonderful Mairead Barry delivered a gentle and evocative reading of a traditional lullaby full of tenderness and deep feeling set in a time of historic castles and great events that contrasted so poignantly to the gently sleeping child in the cradle where all our stories begin, singing the refrain with a restful and charming lilt that struck a delightful chord with all her listeners.  No one can do it quite like dearest Mairead who, as her evaluator Denis O’Brien later pointed out, can take something old and breathe new life into it and carry us to places of the heart where there is sunlight and peace.

     Then our Meeting Organiser and Educational Vice-President, Kevin O’Neill, took us on a journey of discovery to the essence of Toastmasters. He recalled going to a meeting of another club some years ago and left at the interval. The opportunity had not yet found its moment. This theme was taken up later by his evaluator Frank O’Driscoll who also recalled his similar departure from a meeting some years earlier when the time had not been ripe for him. Later he came back to join and become such a brilliant Toastmaster who is cherished and admired by us all. Kevin told us of his desire to improve his powers of expression, to reach out in better and more effective ways and to give presentations that would carry an audience.  In every way he has found in Fermoy Toastmasters all that he was looking for and more as in an astonishingly brief time since joining he has advanced so far and achieved so much.

    Jerry Hennessy made a highly informative presentation on something that affects all our lives: laundry. Relaxed and well-researched, Jerry charted the history of a hundred years of washing from the days of hard scrubbing and the rainwater barrel through to the advent of the twin-tub washing machine followed by the automatics and the tumble dryers of today that replaced drudgery with convenience. He used excellent illustrations on the other side of the meeting programmes with the largest showing a line of newly washed clothes fluttering in the wind. This was a speech among the very finest for which he was warmly complimented by Kevin Walsh.

      Finally, in another late change to the programme, John Quirke gave us a colourful and entertaining recitation on the legend of Fr. Reilly’s Horse that had been the mount of the fallen rebel Andy Regan, in verses of vivid descriptive power evoking larger-than-life images of heroic races and the flash of the riders’ whips told with such immense confidence and extraordinary memory scarcely having to refer to his text, for which he was so amply praised by his evaluator Eilish Ui Bhriain.

     Then came the final summing up by Seoirse Neilan who spoke of how he has always found this club a most relaxed and very jolly place, with a congenial and pleasant ambience that never fails to motivate and to lead the way to ever greater enjoyment. We hope you will join us on that journey of fun, friendship and fulfilment at our next meeting at 8.15 pm on this coming Tuesday, February 28th, in the Fermoy Youth Club.    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.

NETWORKS OF JOY AT FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

There used to be a TV insurance ad with the slogan: ‘You’ll be glad you called’. But with Fermoy Toastmasters it very definitely a case of You’ll Be Glad You Came!

     We were indeed all so very glad to have been a part of the bright, warm and welcoming gathering of Fermoy Toastmasters on Tuesday, January 31st at the Fermoy Youth Centre, our second of 2017, which was so memorably pleasant and entertaining.    Friends coming together to celebrate the joy of life sharing our resources of talent, enthusiasm and creative energy that makes every meeting such a beautiful and rewarding experience.  Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain extended cordial greetings and good wishes to all and then passed control of the meeting to the toastmaster or chairperson Mary Whelan who spoke most eloquently on the air of spring that we see around us now in the natural world and which finds its expression in our meeting room where we assemble in freshness and excitement.

 A fine view of members and guests enjoying the meeting of January 31st 2017.
A fine view of members and guests enjoying the meeting of January 31st 2017.

        Every meeting is a new beginning. For one of our new members Tim Fitzgerald it marked his impressive debut in the role of Topicsmaster, the setter of themes and ideas that invite the members to speak briefly off the cuff having received no prior notification. It is extraordinary how quickly it takes on a life and energy of its own as contributions become readily free flowing and assured. Tim did a fantastic job and presented us with a wonderful range of subjects that challenged us to think swiftly and to speak with ready fluency in that lovely generosity of spirit that compels everyone to share the richness of their thoughts and experience with others setting up a mutually stimulating and uplifting interchange of insights and viewpoints with humour, engagement and zest.

         John Quirke responded thoughtfully to Ireland’s prospects in the Rugby Six Nations Championship by saying that one way to certainly lose a match is by thinking of the next one (and we know what happened since in Murrayfield). Time and again, he said, the national team’s confidence fails them in front of the winning posts, something that happens to so many people in every walk of life. The matching of confidence with effort alone makes dreams become reality and turns aspirations into achievements. Here we received a shining gem of wisdom and insight. Then too views were sought on optimism and pessimism, on whether the glass is half full or half empty. Or to what favourite pastime of your teenage years would you return if that were possible. This drew from our Meeting Organiser Kevin O’Neil the wish to rediscover the pure undiluted joy of the snooker table about which he has spoken previously. In reality his love of that absorbing sport carries on and has been transmuted into an enthusiasm he brings to all areas of life not least the brilliant and outstanding work he does preparing outstandingly successful meeting programmes time and again throughout our current season.

 The Top Table:- Eilish Ui Bhrian, President, flanked by Toastmaster of the evening Mary Whelan (left) and Tim Fitzgerald, Topicsmaster.
The Top Table:- Eilish Ui Bhrian, President, flanked by Toastmaster of the evening Mary Whelan (left) and Tim Fitzgerald, Topicsmaster.

     The scene was now set for three delightful speeches. Our President Eilish Ui Bhriain with winning charm and gentleness took on the challenge of giving an entertaining speech that she illustrated so effectively by bringing to us what she finds most entertaining in her love of creative writing and good reading, cultivating an interest in politics and especially following the fortunes of the Kerry-based Healy-Rae brothers, the storytelling of Cormac McConnell, all representing golden threads of pleasure and enjoyment that each in its turn we hope she will explore at greater length in future assignments as adroitly advised by her evaluator John Quirke.

    It is always a very special treat whenever Michelle O’Brien comes to the lectern and once again we were delighted by her very well-crafted talk conveying ideas in clear and meaningful words. With grace and subtlety she expanded on the theme of support networks in the workplace and in all spheres of our lives that give us encouragement and strength whether through friends and mentors or professional associates and family members all helping us to bring forward ideas and to pursue enhanced development.  Every individual interacts with, assists and learns from each other bringing out the best in all so that together the lives of everyone are made far better and more rewarding. There is no better place to do this than in Toastmasters. As Michelle’s evaluator Jerry Hennessy said in his summation later if bullying leaves people drained, lending a helping hand and a kind word brings fulfilment and mutual strength to all, not least to the one who reaches out in friendship and goodwill.

 Sharing a cuppa and good cheer are Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain; Padraig Murphy (centre) and Michelle O'Brien who had just delivered a brilliant speech on the mutual benefits and rewards derived from sharing and participating in networks of mentors and friends. One need look no further than Fermoy Toastmasters to see a vivid and winning example of friends making life better for each other.
Sharing a cuppa and good cheer are Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain; Padraig Murphy (centre) and Michelle O’Brien who had just delivered a brilliant speech on the mutual benefits and rewards derived from sharing and participating in networks of mentors and friends. One need look no further than Fermoy Toastmasters to see a vivid and winning example of friends making life better for each other.

     Finally, we had an Advanced Storytelling presentation from Johanna Hegarty who depicted the era of the traditional matchmaker in rural Ireland many years ago as exemplified by the coming together of the Walsh and Lynch families in the person of her Aunt Margaret.  If misunderstanding is the essence of comic opera in the world of music, so too in this amusing tale of the spoken word a young woman comes for the first time to the home of the man she hopes to marry and is dismayed to find an elderly gentleman desperately trying to catch a frisky horse and a wayward gander. But soon all was clarified when she was introduced to a fine handsome young fellow whom she would marry in due course and together they would enjoy a long and happy life together, related by Johanna with her eager style, warm enthusiasm and winning smile.

     We are all engaged in the stuff of life that makes us truly human and Johanna was warmly complimented for sharing all of this with us by her evaluator Fanahan Colbert who also underlined the importance of the telling pause in the course of every speech, to halt briefly in one’s delivery to let the full impact of what has been said to register on the listeners and then resuming with an even greater effect. Every evaluation is built on praise, encouragement and suggestion of ever further improvement. The club is a huge source of wisdom and experience and it is there to be utilised and harnessed to the very fullest and best.

Claire Guy (left) enjoying a chat with Jerry Hennessy and Mary Whelan,
Claire Guy (left) enjoying a chat with Jerry Hennessy and Mary Whelan,

     General Evaluator David Walsh praised Timekeeper Clare Guy for her precision and care operating the system of lights and the bell which regulates the use of time to maximum effect. He spoke glowingly of yet another great meeting so well attended and full of genial atmosphere with another instalment in the great tradition of having fun. And we look forward to writing another chapter in that story of fun and this time with a hint of romance and love in the air as we meet again Tuesday evening next, February 14th, St. Valentine’s Night, at 8.15 pm in the Fermoy Youth Centre. You’ll Be Glad You Came!

    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.

CHECKING THE CALENDAR AT FERMOY TOASTMASTERS

Fermoy Toastmasters began the new season for 2017 on a bright, confident and very enjoyable note with a highly successful and entertaining first meeting on the evening of Tuesday, January 17th, at the Fermoy Youth Centre.  Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain extended to all our members and friends warmest good wishes at the outset of another year filled with great hope and promise.  She expressed the delight and gratitude of all of us at seeing such a large attendance with a number of very welcome guests to this opening celebration of personal growth and friendship.

 The Top Table:- Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain flanked by Toastmaster of the evening Jerry Hennessy (left|) and Topicsmaster Frank O' Driscoll with the club banner partially seen in the background. Dating from 1970 we are now within a few short years of celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our Charter in 2020.
The Top Table:- Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain flanked by Toastmaster of the evening Jerry Hennessy (left|) and Topicsmaster Frank O’ Driscoll with the club banner partially seen in the background. Dating from 1970 we are now within a few short years of celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our Charter in 2020.

             Jerry Hennessy then assumed the chairmanship and control of the meeting for the following two hours, introducing the speakers and participants with his relaxed, easy style and assured lightness of touch, guiding the proceedings along briskly, smoothly and refreshingly.  To set the mood for the programme of set speeches, Frank O’Driscoll came to the lectern with ready smiling affability and grace to set before the meeting a selection of widely diverse themes and gentle challenges for the topics session in which members are called upon to speak without prior notice.  With a particular emphasis given to members who may not be on the set programme for the evening and to maximise the participation of all, the initial respondent receives up to two minutes to offer their views, thoughts and feelings while others may follow with just one minute add-ons as they have had a little more time to think of what they would like to say. Very soon an eager spontaneity had taken hold with the bracing effervescence of minds stirring into action with renewed vigour, energy and immediacy.

 Frank O' Driscoll leading a scintillating topics session with ease, humour and grace at the first club meeting of 2017 (January 17th).
Frank O’ Driscoll leading a scintillating topics session with ease, humour and grace at the first club meeting of 2017 (January 17th).

       Ideas and contributions rippled delightfully back and forth across the room with subjects ranging from curing the common cold; an invitation to imagine you stood in the shoes of Vladimir Putin; what you had for breakfast that morning, which drew from Seoirse Neilan a most thoughtful and informative spontaneous presentation on the pleasures and blessings of healthy eating and a high-fibre diet, a subject to which we all hope he will return at greater length in the near future. Following on from the recent Apollo House protest in Dublin, Kevin Walsh was asked what public building in Cork he would like to see occupied, opting immediately for the City Hall and embarked on an hilarious evocation of some of the sensory experiences and not least the pungent odours of Leeside for which he won the Blue Ribbon for the night’s Best Topic.

      With everyone now happily stimulated and in buoyant mood, the audience were eagerly receptive for the set speeches that followed. It is always a great pleasure to welcome an Icebreaker maiden speaker to the lectern, but having two on the same night was something so very gratifying and wonderful. Marie and Conor MacAree each in their turn delivered lovely and impressive debut performances that deeply impressed us all.

     Marie told us of her civil service career so far and then with a lovely quiet and gentle style vividly portrayed her love of triathlon athletics involving swimming, running and cycling events, this last sometimes over very tough and challenging mountain terrain. Usually training twice a day, she follows her sporting path with immense dedication and commitment, achieving levels of athletic prowess that are truly awesome and exemplary. Marie shared her enthusiasm with that same generosity of spirit that also makes for the highly accomplished Toastmaster to which she is already well on her way to becoming,  returning to her seat with a warm and well-deserved smile of having achieved something very uplifting and satisfying. The speech was later evaluated very adroitly by Johanna Hegarty who offered her warmest congratulation on this brilliant start of a great journey.

     Marie was immediately followed by her husband Conor, who gave us a brief introductory flavour of his life so far. A native of Limerick, he enjoys a good rich cup of coffee and is an assessor and consultant to the building industry monitoring projects to ensure they are completed on time and to specification. He recalled the invaluable learning curve that were his early working days in London and also of an interlude spent in Moscow where he gained many fascinating insights into Russian society and culture. Later his evaluator Tricia Neilan lauded him on the confidence and aplomb of his presentation. Given with charm and ease, Conor concluded by saying, ‘Thank you for listening’, but in reality it is we who thank him for making such a fine and memorable opening speech to our club. We welcome Marie and Conor to our membership and wish them every success in the future.

    Our Meetings Organiser, Kevin O’Neil, made a beautiful speech so appropriate to this time of New Year by outlining the history of The Calendar as we have come to know it today. He explained that while a year of 365 days corresponds to the earth’s orbit around the sun, the seven day week is an entirely artificial human construct. Our calendar was first established under Julius Caesar in 45 BC and it lasted for many centuries thereafter. However a fundamental flaw in its calculations eventually caused dates to drift apart from real time by some eleven days. This mathematical error was corrected under the auspices of Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and continues to serve us well to this day, although many countries of the Reformed tradition stoutly held out against the Gregorian calendar for a very long time, Britain not accepting it until 1752 and the very cradle of Western civilisation, Greece, did not make the switch until 1923. How unwilling people can be to accept the right thing when it goes against the grain of their prejudices! Kevin brought us on a very well-informed and fascinating journey through time in a most well-delivered and fine speech that was highly praised by evaluator Mary Whelan.

     Finally, Denis O’Brien made an excellent summation of the historical themes of the Easter Rising Centenary Year. In a remarkably concise and lucid presentation he gave a vivid overall account of this seminal and momentous event, calling to mind the sense of patriotic martyrdom endured by the executed leaders that so impressed him on a recent visit to Kilmainham Gaol.  It is an ever dramatic and deeply moving story of defiance and defeat, of failure and tragedy but one illuminated by such extraordinary heroism, courage and self-sacrifice in the name of generous and humane ideals of freedom and equality that led the way to ultimate victory and new beginnings. A story that never loses anything in the retelling and Denis did it ample justice and to great effect for which he was rightly and most richly complimented by David Walsh.

 Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain is joined by fellow club members in relaxed and happy mood after our meeting of January 17th 2017.
Club President Eilish Ui Bhriain is joined by fellow club members in relaxed and happy mood after our meeting of January 17th 2017.

     Michael Sheehan as General Evaluator gave his overall impression of a meeting that set a bright and positive keynote for the year ahead. We hope to continue and further that happy and sweet momentum at our next gathering in the Fermoy Youth Centre on Tuesday evening next, January 31st, beginning at 8.15 pm. Our door and our hearts are ever open in the very warmest welcome and we hope you will come to see us then. 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.