By Dan Walsh
Bree Macra has been crowned this year’s All-Ireland Public Speaking champions at the National Final in Macroom, Co. Cork, last Saturday.
The team of chairperson Mary Byrne, and speakers Sarah Byrne and Eddie Casey, saw off teams from Tullyallen Macra, from Louth, and Waterfall Macra, from Cork, to claim the title. The Bree trio spoke on the topic “Prison in Ireland is like a hotel experience” with Eddie examining whether our open prisons compared to a hotel stay, and Sarah discussing our medium- and high-security prisons and comparing the experiences of prison officers with those in the hospitality industry.
The presentation was skilfully chaired by Mary Byrne, who earned the title of Best Speaker on the night. Saturday’s win makes her the only person from Wexford to win Macra’s Team Public Speaking competition twice, having also been part of the 2023 All-Ireland winning team.
The Bree team were ably assisted by coaches James Byrne and PJ D’Arcy, two Bree Macra alumni that have each achieved great success in Speaking and Debating, both as competitors, and as coaches.
James was a member of the first Bree team to win an All-Ireland Debating title in 1986, while PJ was a member of the 1970 team that won the All-Ireland Team Public Speaking – the first ever All-Ireland Title for Bree Macra. The club has gone on to win the Public Speaking competition a total of five times; in 1970, 1980, 2001, 2023, and now 2025.
As National Public Speaking champions, the team each received a commemorative plaque, while Mary also received a trophy for her performance as Best Speaker. The three speakers have been awarded a place on the annual Macra Prizewinners Trip, which will take place next year. They were also presented with the Rory Murphy Perpetual Trophy – the very same trophy that the 1970 Bree Public Speaking team first won.
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