Fermoy Toastmasters Club began our new season at our new venue in the Youth Centre on the evening of Tuesday, September 8th. Once again we came in our twos and threes to the tranquil riverside and strolled past the tranquil majestic waters of the great river that carries so many wonderful memories in its endless flow. Once more we were setting out on another great journey of pleasure and discovery, of enjoyment and personal growth. We are ever so grateful to everyone at the Youth Centre for their warm and cordial welcome and their very great kindness and help which is most warmly appreciated by us all.
If the maiden speech of every newly-joined member is traditionally referred to as an Icebreaker, inaugurating a new season of meetings after the four month long summer recess is something of a collective Icebreaker for us all. There is an initial hesitancy but soon once the gavel comes down and the meeting is called to order, we settle joyfully and expectantly to our task. In an amazingly short time the momentum builds and a bright, all-engaging, vivid and genial atmosphere forms like a burst of prolonged glorious sunshine emerging from behind the clouds. In Toastmasters, time is everything. Now in autumn when the year is growing advanced and mature like good wine, we come to our bright springtime of renewal and reaching forward in a spirit of optimism and cheer.
This September we welcome our new President for the year, John Sherlock, who brings all of his outstanding qualities of warmth and kindness, leadership and humour to his noble task. On his fine shoulders, he wears the chain of office bearing the names of his illustrious predecessors stretching back some forty-three years, richly symbolic of a living, powerful and vibrant heritage and a progressive generous vision for the future which he now in a sense embodies and is the driving force of encouragement and inspiration.
John is such a very nice and caring man, deeply considerate of everyone and most helpful, radiating such uplifting enthusiasm and keenness to us all. To keep my own sometimes rather sensitive throat in good speaking order, he never forgets to bring with him a packet of mints which give such pleasant comfort and ease. It is this kindness and ready generosity of spirit, this care for people and celebration of human values that makes John such a very special person and cherished friend and will ensure to him a memorably successful and happy tenure of office as our Club President throughout the coming year. Indeed generosity of spirit and the willingness to give of your best is what Toastmasters is all about, for it is in that giving that we most amply receive such shared satisfaction and delight.
Our topicsmaster, Johanna Hegarty, rose to the occasion and swiftly had everyone thinking on their feet and eagerly responding to a well chosen and stimulating variety of topics from the planned State Funeral of Thomas Kent in Castlelyons, the challenges of the college points system and the travails of Irish Water, from the joys of cycling to the current refugee crisis and the over-dominance of a small number of counties in the annual GAA hurling and football championships, together with so much else. Very quickly this had everyone thinking, speaking and sharing their thoughts, stories and ideas, building up a warm and conducive atmosphere that brings out the best in everyone. The art of Toastmasters is all about participation. No one ever falls asleep at our meetings. Instead we tap into our shared creative energies and in so doing to bring out the very best in everyone.
Three beautiful set speeches provided the core of a truly lovely first meeting. Mary Whelan began reminiscing of a time when she worked in a busy London hospital at which the late Princess Margaret was sometimes a patient, developing from these memories a very engaging talk on the different grades and ranks of the British aristocracy and upper classes, illustrated with the use of a flip chart and delivered in her ever gentle engaging style, gave us a most illuminating insight into a world of privilege and tradition.
Frank O’Driscoll also availed of the flip chart bearing a diagram of the circle of personality types, a very well researched and thoughtful speech that told us so much about the variety and the complexity of what it is to be human, from the placid and gentle types who will do almost anything to avoid conflict and acquiescent with things as they are, to the artistic mind-set ever seeking to create entirely new worlds around them corresponding to their vision of a virtually perfect order. The key to happiness and fulfilment is to recognise that all of these personality types are within each and every one of us and to bring them into a dynamic and harmonious balance.
Finally, Jerry Hennessy told us of the extraordinary story of one of the most remarkable women of our times, Adi Roche, who emerged out of the anonymity of everyday life motivated by an intense desire to do something to alleviate the sufferings of the children damaged and hurt by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in 1986. Setting out with an impulse to help, she was to achieve something truly splendid for humanity. An edifying and powerful speech that gave us a flavour of the epic story of how one woman made the world more human for everyone, a message that has a very meaningful resonance in today’s times.
Our three speakers received the positive feedback of evaluation form Peggy O’Donoghue, David Walsh and Eilish Ui Bhriain respectively, with an overall assessment from General Evaluator Fanahan Colbert. Mairead Barry won the ribbon for Best Topic for her response to the issue of water charges by saying that water is a stream of pure gold. Best Evaluator went to Peggy O’Donoghue and Best Speaker to Mary Whelan for her talk on the nobility. We look forward most joyfully to our next meeting on this coming Tuesday, September 22nd, 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.
