The LoveLaois Podcast

The hugely talented John Whelan joins us on the latest version of the LoveLaois Podcast where he tells us of his journey into writing poetry. John has essentially been writing for a living for almost half a century though poetry is certainly a different style. Mixing nostalgia with emotion and observation, he reads three of his poems - Conkers, Stoked and Miscellany. He chats about childhood memories, setting up a surf club in Laois and Christmas trips to the much-loved Miscellany shop in Laois. The poems recited are taken from a new collection entitled 'Stoked', which is due to be published later in 2025.And in keeping with the festive season, we close out with Fairytale of New York, from the hugely popular local band Pogueology.

The LaoisToday team of Paul Dargan and Steven Miller travelled to Dublin on Wednesday for the first day of the 34th Dáil. We caught up with the three Laois TDs as well as the newly-elected John Clendennen (Fine Gael) from Offaly and Mark Wall (Labour) from Kildare South. For Fine Gael's Willie Aird it was his first day in the Dáil after 45 years in local politics while Sean Fleming (Fianna Fáil) and Brian Stanley (Independent) were returning for their latest term and also spoke of their immense pride in representing the people of Laois. 

The fourth episode in our Transition Year series is where we hear from Portlaoise CBS student Joe Larkin.From Stradbally, Joe is spending the second half of the first term on work experience with LaoisToday.Joe plays football for Stradbally Parish Gaels and is currently on the Laois minor panel.Joe sits down with Steven Miller where he talks about school, TY and social media.Alan Hartnett also joins the pair for the chat as they discuss TY mini company memories of their own. Memories of Covid and the impact it had on children feature plus playstation games.Joe also talks about his attitude towards money and his hopes for the future.

The LaoisToday Friday Panel proved somewhat of a hit in the run-up to the General Election and it returns today for the postmortem. Previous guests Vivienne Phelan, Brian Phelan and Eoin Barry return but Helen Campion is unavailable and is replaced on this occasion by Gavin Deering, who was campaign manager for Independent candidate Aisling Moran. The guests chat about the election as a whole, the success of Willie Aird in Laois, Government formation talks, stories that caught their eye - and finish with a quiz, as host Steven Miller challenges them to name as many Sinn Féin TDs as possible. 

The General Election has come and gone with all seats now filled both in Laois and nationally.Willie Aird (Fine Gael), Sean Fleming (Fianna Fail) and Brian Stanley (Independent) have been elected in Laois.While nationally, Fianna Fail are the largest party with 48 seats in the new Dail.The count in Laois took a day and a half to complete and was one of the first in the country to finish.Steven Miller is joined by Alan Hartnett to reflect upon it all.The picture in Laois, the winners and losers, what it means for the future and the madness surrounding the Monk.

The story of Day 1 at the Laois General Election count centre was the stunning success of first time Fine Gael candidate Willie Aird, who topped the poll. Elected first to Portlaoise Town Commission in 1979, he has been a local representative for 45 years. He joined us on our LoveLaois Podcast to discuss his success, his amazing career in politics and what he feels like to be going to Dail Eireann to represent the people of Laois. We also hear from Fianna Fail's Sean Fleming who is set to retain his seat as well as Sinn Fein's Maria McCormack who polled strongly and retains an outside chance. As well as that we chat to Independent candidates Aisling Moran and Elaine Mullally and also to Conor Dunne (Fine Gael) and Ross Molloy (Fianna Fail), two of the partys' youngest activists locally. 

The third episode in our Transition Year series where we hear from Knockbeg College student Cathal Carroll.Our Transition Year series is brought to you in association with People First Credit Union.  People First Credit Union support young minds in shaping their future.People First believe in the power of community and the potential of youth. People First Credit Union – building a future of opportunity, one saver at a time.

The finishing line is in sights. After months of speculation and weeks of canvassing, the country will go to the polls on Friday. And so, for one final time before it all happens, Steven Miller and Alan Hartnett sit down for a chat. In this Podcast we set the scene for the election where Laois is now a three-seat constituency.The lads explain when and where the voting is on, where the count will be and speculate as to when can we expect a result.They look at the likely turnout and explain how the quota is calculated plus what that actually means. We have 12 candidates and for one final time, Steven and Alan give one minute of a description for each of them.How might the whole controversy effect both Brian Stanley and Sinn Fein?Can Willie Aird hold the seat held by Charlie Flanagan?Can an Independent break through? Can a woman be elected for first time in history?We will know the answers to all of these questions by the end of the weekend. 

General Election campaigns by their nature are always about the candidates. On this occasion in Laois, it is also somewhat significant for who isn't running. Charlie Flanagan has contested every General Election since 1987 for Fine Gael - his father Oliver J was a TD prior to that since 1943. But Charlie announced his retirement ahead of this campaign, bringing to an end a local family political dynasty. He joined us to chat about his career, his memories, some of the big decisions across his time in the Dáil and what it's like now not to be running

General Elections are marathons not sprints - but we are in the sprinting phase of things now. Four days away from polling, Alan Hartnett and Steven Miller sit down for the final time to discuss the latest goings on. Locally, both have them have been 'On The Canvass' and recall their encounters. Nationally, the latest polls have shown a slump for Fine Gael and the lads discuss what that might mean in Laois.