Irish Talkers

 With the diversity of ethnicities and religions within the Toastmasters family, Paul delves into the subject of celebrating religious festivals within Toastmaster clubs. ____________________________________________ This is part 3 from Programme 17 of 2019/20 season - published on December 22nd presented by Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this form...

Mark Hunter was the 2009 World Champion of Public Speaking.  Here is his winning speech "A Sink Full of Green Tomatoes". Paul and Moira discuss this wonderful speech afterwards. ____________________________________________ This is part 2 from Programme 17 of 2019/20 season - published on December 21st presented by Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has th...

The introduction to this week's shows including as usual: The  word of the week - BENIGN and Thought for the week from Maya Angelou - "Try to be a rainbow in someone's life" ____________________________________________ This is part 1 from Programme 17 of 2019/20 season - published on December 20th presented by Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this f...

Inspired by this article by Steve Keating, Moira discusses his challenges and gives her perspective on them. ____________________________________________ This is part 4 from Programme 16 of 2019/20 season - published on December 16th presented by Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the Wee...

Paul takes a look at the Toastmasters website following his small survey of local Toastmasters to find out how much use they make of it. ____________________________________________ This is part 3 from Programme 16 of 2019/20 season - published on December 15th presented by Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the...

The winning 2019 Humourous Speech in District 114 (E Africa) - Matthew George: "Mistakes Make the Man".  ____________________________________________ This is part 2 from Programme 16 of 2019/20 season - published on December 14th presented by Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the We...

The introduction to this weeks show including: Word of the Week: COROLLARY Thought for the Week: John Ruskin - "Give a little love to a child and you get a great deal back", which Moira rewrote to say "Give a little love to a Toastmaster and you get a great deal back". ____________________________________________ This is part 1 from Programme 16 of 2019/20 season - published on December 13th prese...

Following on from comments made off-air during our interview with District 71 Director John Cox, Paul discusses the training, or lack of it, of District Officers from Area Director upwards. ____________________________________________ This is part 4 from Programme 15 of 2019/20 season - published on December 9th presented by Ted Mellamphy, Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four par...

Bryan Stevenson is a public-interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned. He is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. His inspirational TED talk from 2012 is our offering for you this week in two parts, the second part tomorrow...

Bryan Stevenson is a public-interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned. He is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. His inspirational TED talk from 2012 is our offering for you this week in two parts, the second part tomorrow...

This is the introductory segment of this weeks shows and includes: The Word of the Week: MAUNDER and The Thought for the Week: Nelson Mandela - "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living". followed by conversation, ____________________________________________ This is part 1 from Programme 15 of 2019/20 season - publis...

We continue the conversation with John Cox, the current District 71 director. ____________________________________________ This is part 4 from Programme 14 of 2019/20 season - published on December 2nd presented by Ted Mellamphy, Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the Week” together with...

We continue the conversation with John Cox, the current District 71 director. ____________________________________________ This is part 3 from Programme 14 of 2019/20 season - published on December 1st presented by Ted Mellamphy, Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the Week” together with...

The District 71 Director for this year, John Cox, visited Cork city as the District representative at the Division A contests. We had the opportunity for a long interview session with him of which this is the first where he answers our usual five questions. ____________________________________________ This is part 2 from Programme 14 of 2019/20 season - published on November 30th presented by Ted...

The introduction to this week's show including: Word of the Week: EXCELLENCE Thought for the week: Nelson Mandela - "The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear". And of course the usual chat. ____________________________________________ This is part 1 from Programme 14 of 2019/20 season - published on November 29th presented by Ted Mellamphy, Moira O'Brien &amp...

Following her stint as Toastmaster of the Meeting at her last club meeting, Moira discusses a number of points which the role holder might address in undertaking this important role. ____________________________________________ This is part 4 from Programme 13 of 2019/20 season - published on November 25th presented by Ted Mellamphy, Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and...

Given that we are now in the throes of the Autumn speech contests, Paul considered it was worthwhile discussing the ethics of being a judge at these contests. ____________________________________________ This is part 3 from Programme 13 of 2019/20 season - published on November 24th presented by Ted Mellamphy, Moira O'Brien & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format...

This is the speech given at TEDx Lausanne in 2014 by John Zimmer who, apart from running a successful speaking business is also the co-inventor with Florian Mueck of the game " Rhetoric ". If you have never played this game, we thoroughly recommend it.  ____________________________________________ This is part 2 from Programme 12 of 2019/20 season - published on November 23rd presented by Ted...

The introduction to this weeks series of shows including: Word of the Week: CHUTZPAH and Thought for the Week: John F Kennedy -  "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them". ____________________________________________ This is part 1 from Programme 12 of 2019/20 season - published on November 15th presented by Te...

Prompted by  this article in Toastmaster magazine the discussion centres around bilingual clubs in Ireland.  ____________________________________________ This is part 4 from Programme 12 of 2019/20 season - published on November 18th presented by Ted Mellamphy & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the Week” t...

Paul introduces a discussion on the subject of whether Toastmasters International is becoming Corporatized? ____________________________________________ This is part 3 from Programme 12 of 2019/20 season - published on November 17th presented by Ted Mellamphy & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the Week...

An inspirational speech from actor Denzel Washington given at the commencement for Pennsylvania University in 2011 ____________________________________________ This is part 2 from Programme 12 of 2019/20 season - published on November 16th presented by Ted Mellamphy & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of t...

The introduction to this weeks show including: Thought for the week: Alfred North Whitehead - "No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise & the confident acknowledge this with gratitude". Word of the week: PELL-MELL ____________________________________________ This is part 1 from Programme 12 of 2019/20 season - published on November 15th presented by Ted Mellamph...

Inspired by this article in the Toastmaster magazine,  the lads talk about the do's and don'ts of being funny. ____________________________________________ This is part 4 from Programme 10 of 2019/20 season - published on November 11th presented by Ted Mellamphy & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of...

Paul introduces advice from Depak Menon, this year's International President of Toastmasters International. ____________________________________________ This is part 3 from Programme 10 of 2019/20 season - published on November 10th presented by Ted Mellamphy & Paul O’Mahony. The show is in four parts and usually has this format: (1) Introducing a “Thought for the Week” and a “Word of the Week...