Laois Connects Ógra public speaking competition
TY students who took part in the Public Speaking Competition in Mountmellick Library
MOUNTMELLICK Community School hosted a TY public speaking competition in tandem with the very successful Ógra Live Well Exposition. Primary and secondary schools from all over the county flocked to this long-awaited event to have their voice heard.
Alongside the exposition and the various talks that took place within the school, a TY Public Speaking Competition took place in Mountmellick’s Public Library. Students from Mountmellick Community School, Scoil Chríost Rí, St Mary’s CBS, Heywood Community School and Clonaslee College represented their schools by each creating and delivering a persuasive speech. Representing Mountmellick Community School were students Ava Scully, Kieva Mullen and David Hickey.
Students’ speeches aimed at convincing the audience that failure is just as important as success for our mental health and wellbeing. Each pupil argued effectively that our failures contribute to our success and without them, our triumphs would be meaningless. Judging this competition were Bernie Foran, our very own county librarian, Otmar Wullich and Mary Heaney. Otmar Wullich and Mary Heaney are proud members of Portlaoise Toastmasters, a non-profit, educational organisation that aims to teach public speaking skills to adults.
Mountmellick Community School were very grateful and appreciative of the time and careful, professional feedback the judges contributed to this competition. The students’ speeches were inspiring. Students tugged on the audience’s heartstrings, sharing snippets of both celebrities’ and indeed their own failures in life and how these failures, in turn, helped them to build resilience, keep pushing forward and eventually succeed. Teachers, judges and students alike came away from the event with a renewed perspective on failure.
All three judges were in agreement that the standard of the students’ speeches was very high and indeed it was difficult to choose the winners. The winner for Best Speech was Orlaith Navyn from Heywood Community School. The winner for Best Individual Speaker was Elle Donovan. Alongside the winners, the judges selected four runner-ups who each won a prize also. Among them were Mountmellick’s very own Kieva Mullen and David Hickey, who both delivered confident and compelling speeches. Students Molly Byrne and Aanya Tyagi, who also delivered impressive speeches, from Scoil Chríost Rí won runner-up prizes also.
Well done to all and congratulations to the winners.
