William Priestley
Jack Kavanagh
Jack Kavanagh, 22 years old, suffered a spinal injury little over two years ago diving into the sea, something that he had done so many times before as a beach lifeguard and watersports enthusiast. As a result he is now paralysed from the chest down with limited use of his arms and hands, but is not let this stand in his way. He has beaten the odds thus far through determination and by making the right choices repeatedly as hard as it may be. Having returned to college little over a year after his injury, he continues to push himself both physically and mentally. His story and how he challenges himself every day has inspired many as he strives to create what he calls "a new normal" for himself and everybody around him. See his Facebook and Trust website below to follow his story so far. http://www.jackkavanaghtrust.com/ https://www.facebook.com/SupportForJackKavanagh
Ian Kingston
Ian is a native Corkman who emigrated to Dublin in 1992, proving that it is possible for a Cork person to be happy and successful living outside of Cork. He has settled under the Sugar Loaf mountain in Co. Wicklow, with Alison and their young adult children Brian and Sally, where he mountainbikes, cycles and plays in the woods to his heart’s content.
He set up Essential Training in 1995,providing communication and performance training and coaching to companies and individuals across a wide diversity of industry sectors ,with companies ranging from global leaders to one person start-ups. Ian is passionate about the area of human potential and personal development, and believes that the extra ordinary resides within all of us. In his every day work he experiences people coming to realise their own brilliance and potential with the use of some simple tools and techniques. His personal goal is to help as many people as possible to unleash their extraordinariness by applying some simple behaviours and creating empowering habits.
Darren McNelis
Darren classes himself as a polymath and an adaptationist. Self confessed to be average to poor all through his academic life, Darren failed college twice. Until finally he figured out what was holding him back mentally. He was spending most of his time playing video games and completely overloading his working memory and damaging his ability to learn effectively. After he made this realization he took his learning into his own hands and went back and finished college and subsequently became an author and speaker. He is now a coach for businesses and individuals showing them how to empower and improve themselves with strategies and techniques that will help them reach success in this over competitive world. You can follow him on twitter @Darrenmacnelis
Dave McFarlane
360 Entertainment is a multi-award winning creative entertainment and team building company that conceives, produces and delivers beyond all expectations. Known for their creative edge and attention to detail, 360 Entertainment write and tailor shows for specific events while recognizing the importance of delivering high impact and jaw dropping entertainment, every time. For more information see https://360entertainment.ie
Adam Murphy
Adam is a PhD student in Dublin City University, Ireland. He is a researcher on the unique PhD Scholar’s Programme in BioAnalysis and Therapeutics (BioAT) and specifically looks at the use of nano-science to improve cancer detection. Adam’s undergraduate degree is in Physics with Astronomy, where he proudly held the title of class nerd. When not surrounded by lasers and chemicals, Adam can usually be found on the squash court, watching some variety of sci-fi or talking to anyone willing to listen about physics, having recently co-founded the science blog Nanodash (nanodash.tumblr.com) to do just that.
Annemarie Steen
Annemarie Steen Dutch speaker Annemarie (MA) is a sparkling, creative and playful personality. She is ‘Serious about Playfulness’ and has a strong vision about the importance of Play for adults in dealing with today’s challenges, especially in the corporate world. Annemarie loves to learn and engage her participants (students and employees) into playful learning experiences.
In collaboration with international partners she delivered innovative culture- and leadership programs in Istanbul, Singapore and Estonia. And recently she invited the citizens of her hometown Eindhoven to participate in a Happy in Eindhoven musicvideo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew3yHYvhSwI). Blog: www.annemariesteen.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/licensetoplay
Twitter: @steentrain
Dutch website: www.steentrain.nl
What is TEDx?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxBallyroanLibrary, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxBallyroanLibrary event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.