Galway Toastmasters - 29 April 2026 - A warm atmosphere on a warm Spring Evening.

 

The 29^th of April was an exceptionally sunny day for Galway and still those of us trying to learn the art of a good speech were drawn to the bright upstairs room in Sccul Enterprise Centre to try command the art of public speaking.

Following a warm welcome from our Toastmaster for the night Christoffer he then introduced the meeting role holders. Deidre took on her first role of Ah Counter and introduced herself and the role seamlessly, followed by our wonderful Grammarian Cliona who choose the word Marvellous as the word of the evening. This word went on to be mentioned 19 times on the night in lots of interesting and different ways. How marvellous! We also had the captivating Rob as timekeeperand humorous Sarah as scribe.

Spencer brought us a very entertaining and revealing Creative Corner where he put interesting questions to the floor were members and guests stood up if they had for example been in a work meeting and in fact had no idea what was going on or if they had ever been escorted out of a place. This brought a great sense of fun and devilment to the room.

Our General Evaluator Kathy spoke passionately about the role and purpose of constructive evaluation to help us better ourselves as she wonderfully reminded us that this community is a space for learning.

Bea had us intrigued and bemused as she took a large bag of interesting props to the top of the room for a very stimulating and intellectual Topicsmaster session. She challenged members to speak off the cuff for 2 minutes on thought provoking topics from charity scandals, 4 day working weeks to what the household hammer or tin whistle reminds you of.

Pat who has only been a Toastmaster for 2 years delivered an exceptional Level 4 Presentation titled ‘Giving a Toastmasters Speech’ while being interrupted and heckled by an engrossed audience on purpose. He brought laughs and skill to an already wonderful atmosphere. This speech was later brilliantly evaluated by Ian who described Pat’s ‘killer eyes’ perfectly and with great wit.

Eoin had the tough job of evaluating seasoned Toastmaster Martin who delivered a motivating speech entitled ‘Shifting Sands’ that gave us rich food for thought that had us reflecting on what gives us a sense of security or life meaning.

The esteemed Mark praised our Sergeant in Arms Frances on her Storytelling Speech which she delivered with class and seasoned confidence. She took us right back to the house she grew up in and rich memories from her childhood.

 Kathy our general evaluator highlighted the excellent atmosphere that evening and how to be able to get so many members and guests in attendance even on a super sunny evening in Galway was a testament to the club and what it brings to people.

Martin, our VP of Education, filled the roles for our next meeting and detailed how it will comprise of our AGM and explained how to get involved as an officer. Warren then, as always closed, the meeting with a opportunity for anyone who wished to speak to come up and saw a few words which inspired a guest of the evening to come up to the podium and say a few words which were very warmly received.

A warm evening made even warmer by great people, discussions and sharing.