Our Next Event….
Thursday, 1st March 2012
Speakers: Kyran Bracken MBE & Lea Roberts
Members Tickets: £59 + VAT each
Non Members Tickets: £79 + VAT each
Our Subsequent Events in 2012
Thursday, 24th May 2012
Thursday, 20th September 2012
Thursday, 6th December 2012
Speaker Profiles
Kyran Bracken MBE
Born in Dublin of a dentist father and a mother who had played hockey for Ireland, Kyran’s family moved to England when he was aged 4 and he was brought up in Liverpool. Coached at Stonyhurst College by former England Head Coach Brian Ashton, Kyran played initially for Waterloo RFC, but joined Bristol in 1992 whilst studying Law at the University and stayed on after qualifying as a solicitor.
In the meantime, Kyran had made his debut for England against New Zealand in 1993 but a major ankle injury put him out of action for 3 months. Whilst his professional rugby career actually lasted for 14 seasons, injury and serious competition for the scrum half berth restricted his International appearances. Nevertheless, after joining Saracens in 1996 he helped the Club to defeat Wasps and win the Tetleys Bitter Cup in 2008. A year earlier, after initially being left out of the British Lions Squad for South Africa in favour of Matt Dawson and Austin Healey, he was called out as a replacement for injured Rob Howley but did not feature in any of the Test Matches.
Injury kept Kyran out of the 1999 World Cup and he was again not selected for the Lions in 2001, for the tour to Australia, but he did Captain England on a three match development tour of North America. Two years later, he played in England’s summer tour to Australia and New Zealand, defeating both countries. Kyran’s last four caps were won during the 2003 World Cup in Australia, his 50th appearance against Wales in the quarter-final and his last in the semi-final against France. He then announced his retirement from International rugby but played on with Saracens until 2006.
Less than a year later, in March 2007, Kyran starred in and won the second series of the very popular ITV celebrity ice dancing competition, “Dancing on Ice” with partner Melanie Lambert, with whom he achieved a record score in the semi-final of 29.5 points out of 30. A week after the Final he also won the special edition of the Show, “The Champion of Champions”. Since then he has set up and runs a successful touring skating show, “Kyran’s Ice Party”.
These days a resident in north London with his wife and three sons, Kyran is also a very popular speaker on the circuit where he is able to combine his natural sense of humour with his knowledge of business principles and vast experience as an International sportsman.
Lea Roberts
Lea hails from a family steeped in sporting tradition and he himself has always had a keen interest in sport. Indeed, he played professional rugby league for Halifax, after a serious injury playing as an amateur had almost put paid to his sporting prospects. On any Top Table that includes Lea, the conversation will always turn to sport, where he willingly expounds his knowledge of the subject, not to mention his passion for Halifax RLFC.
After his retirement from rugby league, Lea’s natural wit and warm personality took him into the world of stand-up comedy where his ability to make people laugh without causing offence brought him much success and notoriety, particularly on the northern circuit, over many years, until his big break…….
In 2002, having already finished runner-up in the 2001 “Batchelors Cup-A-Soup” Comedy Challenge, perfoming at London’s Comedy Store, Lea was voted the outright winner in the ITV talent show, “Stand Up Britain” which was screened live on ITV1. Two years later he was invited back by ITV to perform in “That’s Entertainment” – a big budget UV variety showcase. Since then, Lea has become one of the country’s most sought after comedians on the corporate, cabaret and sporting circuits, with a well-earned reputation as an outstanding entertainer and raconteur.