A most enjoyable meeting of Mullingar Toastmasters was held in the Greville Arms Hotel on Thursday January 22. Approximately 20 members attended and a few guests also participated in the meeting. Congratulations to Anne O’Farrell who officially became a new member on the night.
The meeting was competently organised and chaired by the Toastmaster of the night, Ann Eighan. There were four speeches that night of various stages. Each speech lasted between five and eight minutes. The first speaker was Magdalena Haba and the title of her speech was ‘The Gift’. The gift Magda talked about was the gift of friendship and how that gift has enhanced her life since she came from Poland to live in Ireland. Magda’s speech was evaluated by Jon Woodford.
The second speaker was Martina Murtagh with a speech entitled ‘Talk the Walk’. Martina talked about her love of walking and how places can speak to us and tell their own story. Martina gave the example of Loughcrew near Oldcastle which has so much history attached to it. Martina’s speech was evaluated by Geraldine Smith.
Sean Harraghy did an advanced speech about dancing. He began his speech by talking about a holiday in Spain. He described how he observed a Spanish couple dancing in a bar. He marvelled at their rhythm and skill in dancing. Sean subsequently spoke about the art of dance and its expression. His speech was evaluated by Ronan Murtagh.
Rachel O’Connor Waldron was the final speaker of the evening. She read an excerpt from a book by Jonathan Livingston Seagull and the title of the excerpt was ‘Flying High’. Rachel’s speech was evaluated by Alma Manny.
After the speeches and evaluations there was a welcome tea break where people had a chance to relax and socialise. A topics session followed the tea break. The topicmaster for the evening was Maria Bourke, who brought some magic to the meeting by waving a magic wand at the person who was chosen to answer a topic.
People were invited to answer topics on a broad range of subjects ranging from ‘reality’ to ‘records’.
The meeting was brought to a close by the general evaluator of the evening, Brian Mc Loughlin, and the president of the club, Jon Woodford. Most of the people who attended the meeting adjourned to the bar for a drink.
Our next meeting is on Thursday, February 12 at 8.30pm in the Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar. If you want to beat the winter blues, if you want some mental stimulation, why not come to Mullingar Toastmasters? You are guaranteed a good laugh, interesting speeches, new friends. Why don’t you bring a friend with you?
