About the Irish Talkers

Ted Mellamphy first approached Moira O'Brien in late 2014 about the possibility of a new show about Toastmasters. Moira was then a fairly new Toastmaster and also Station Manager at Irish Radio International, the online radio station that she formed with two colleagues in January 2013.

The show first aired on November 12th, 2014 with Ted Mellamphy (on the left) and Sharon O'Neill (bottom left) as the first presenters. The show developed a regular format with the first segment being an introduction to the programme, containing a word of the week and a quote of the week. The second segment was devoted to an interview with a guest Toastmaster and the third and fourth segments were devoted to Leadership and Communication respectively.
After covering the Competent Communicator and Competent Leadership Manuals, the show then went on to cover all of the Advanced Manuals. Of course, the show had to mature and is now more about public speaking in general with an emphasis on Toastmasters as an educational organisation.


At the end of the second year, Sharon O'Neill moved on to other things and Tom Hebel (right) joined the show as co-presenter. Shortly after this Moira O'Brien (right), who has produced the show since the beginning, also joined as a second co-presenter.
Tom left the show in June 2017 and has recently been replaced by Paul O'Mahony CC who has brought his own inimitable style to the show.
Paul O'Mahony CC
In 2023 we were joined by James Finnegan
In late 2024 James was replaced by Dr Shirley Gallagher.