Midweek LaoisToday

Hello and welcome to episode 23 of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

Liz Kennedy is a member of the Ballinakill Community Development Association and joined us on the podcast this week to discuss the recent development that commenced in Ballinakill last week. 

Ground was broke on a new state of the art playground for the village and the community and committee are delighted that work is finally underway. 

The outdoor swimming pool in the village recently underwent some refurbishment as well and even seen a new air-to-water system installed which will be the pool now fully heated. Liz, discussed this and the excitement about the reopening in a couple of weeks time. 

Garda Sergeant Graham Kavanagh joins us every month for our monthly crime prevention chat. This month, Graham, discussed the retail checklist for those businesses that will be reopening following a number of months closure. 

Garda Kavanagh gives some really important tips on your premises, the use of alarms and cctv and also making sure your staff are trained to prevent a crime from happening. 

Graham also discussed recent scams that have been making the rounds and urged people not to give any personal details over the phone and not too panic if they receive the call from a scammer. 

The Midweek podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available to download wherever you get your podcasts. 

Hello and welcome to episode 22 of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

Consider it Cakes is a new community group set up by Franciska Acs. The aim of the group is to make cake and sweet treats for those in direct provision and emergency accommodation.

Jamie Deery is the coordinator for the Laois area and she explains how they are looking for baking enthusiasts to help meet the demand for their sweet treats. 

Recently revealed as Laois's number one TikTok account, Mary-Claire Fitzpatrick is the creator of the page MCluvs2laugh. With over 400k likes and over 15k followers MC puts serious work into making top quality TikToks.

The Rathdowney native is a tv presenter with RTE and is no stranger to our screens both big and small. We spoke to MC about her shenanigans on the platform as well as her love for her county and her Live, Laugh, Laois merchandise. 

Portlaoise AFC are one of the many local clubs that use the facilities at Portlaoise Leisure Centre. Following the leisure centres closure there is still no date in sight for re-opening. Mick Coleman from Portlaoise AFC joined us to discuss Portlaoise Leisure Centre and how it has become run down in recent months. 

The Midweek Podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available to download on all podcast platforms. 

Hello and welcome to episode 21 of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

Alison Dyer is a nurse from Portarlington and has recently been crowned Miss Laois in the 2021 Miss Ireland competition. 

Aly joins us on the podcast to discuss stepping outside of her comfort zone, how the last few months have been for her and what the future holds for the 23 year-old. 

May 16th 2021 marked the 100th year since the Barrowhouse Ambush. Nessa O'Meara is a local to the area of Barrowhouse and the author of The Barrowhouse Ambush and she joins us to discuss the story about the ambush, how her aunty helped her decided to write the book and just how brave the local men were and risked their lives. 

The Midweek Podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available to download every Wednesday on all podcast platforms. 

Hello and welcome to episode 20, of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

David Finn is the owner of the Stylebar in Portlaoise and he like many other business owners reopened their doors to the public this week to offer their services after five long months. 

David speaks to us about reopening, how challenging the last five months have been for the industry and getting to meet their clients once again. 

Laois is a wonderful county with so many wonderful tourist spots for you to visit. Caragh Burns-Sharma is the Chairperson of Laois Tourism and she joined Steven Miller to discuss her top picks of the top tourist destinations our county has to offer. 

Later this year, two ladies will represent Ireland in the Argentine Women's Open. One of this ladies is April Kent, from Abbeyleix. 

April has been involved in Polo for just over 10 years and April discusses on the podcast how her love for the sport began, fitness, heading to Argentina to play and how determined her and her team are to do well at the competition. 

The Midweek Podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available to listen to wherever you get your podcasts. 

Hello and welcome to episode 19 of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

Rebecca Houlihan is a 20 year-old student from Portarlington who suffers with severe asthma. As this week marks Asthma Awareness Week, Rebecca tells us her story and how she lives with asthma on a daily basis, what she does to keep well and living with the condition in a global pandemic. 

Leo Kavanagh from Raheen, is the driving force behind a new national organisation called Physical Impairment Ireland. The group have met weekly over the last number of months and are there to give a voice to those with physical disabilities and impairments. 

Leo discusses many pressing topics on the podcast including the lack of public transport for this with physical disabilities nationwide. 

The Midweek podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available on all podcast platforms. 

Hello and welcome to episode 18 of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

On this months crime prevention segment, Garda Sergeant Graham Kavanagh discussed the lifting of restrictions and how people will now be venturing from their homes. 

Sergeant Kavanagh, is encouraging people to make sure their houses are fully protected and has some important tips to ensure you don't become a victim of burglary crime. 

300 members of the Defence Forces lead by Lieutenant Colonel Conor Bates from Clonaslee will shortly be embarking on a journey to Lebanon to continue the ongoing peace keeping mission over there. 

Connor joins Steven Miller to discuss the six month trip and what it will entail, quarantining in the Glen of Imaal and the support and sacrifices the army families make when saying farewell to their loved ones. 

Brian Killeen is a member of the band ShadyBird. Brian joined us on the podcast recently to discuss his own music and that of his new band. Their new single 'Those Cruel Mornings' is available to download now and you can have a listen at the end of the podcast. 

The Midweek Podcast with LaoisToday is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available to listen to wherever you get your podcasts. 

Hello and welcome to episode 17 of the Midweek podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

Evin Joyce is a native of Glenbarrow in county Laois and is currently doing extraordinary work in Malawi. Having been an aid worker professionally for almost 10 years, Evin decided to return to Malawi in February 2020 to help locals with educational needs amongst other projects. 

Evin is the founder of Ulemu.com and has been working hard over the last 18 months with his wonderful team to continue to provide life changing services to Malawians. 

Miriam Keegan is a primary school teacher from Emo. Miriam has recently been awarded the Fulbright-EPA Student Award to study her masters in fashion and sustainability. 

Miriam spoke with us about her love for fashion, her excitement about heading to the States, not buying clothes for a whole year and much more! 

Dr. Marie-Louise Bowe from Stradbally, has spent her life with music. Marie-Louise who is currently the Assistant Professor of Music Education in the school of Arts Education and movement in DCU. 

Marie speaks to us about her involvement in music from a young age, studying, her career in music and about a wonderful concert she recently recorded from home for DCU. 

We finish out this weeks podcast with a lovely Slow Air performed by Marie-Louise and her good friend Michelle Mason. 

The Midweek podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available to listen to on all podcast platforms. Don't forget subscribe, rate and review with your podcast provider. 

Hello and welcome to episode 16 of the Midweek Podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

SOSAD Laois is a charity that aims to help teenagers who are dealing with Mental Health and Bereavement issues. The charity are currently looking for a new home in Portlaoise and one of the committee members is Portlaoise native Christy Bannon. 

Christy, who is known for speaking publicly about his own mental health battles discusses what the charity does and who they will help. 

Cormac Moore is an Historian with Dublin City Council and a proud Emo man. Cormac has spoke to Steven Miller to discuss 50 years since the controversial GAA ban. 

In their conversation, they touched on many items including what games the GAA forbid its members to play. 

Mountmellick woman Emer Dunne recently released a new single, 'Daisy'. All funds raised from the purchasing of this song are going directly to the Irish Cancer Society. 

The song is available to download from iTunes and Bandcamp now. 

Hello and welcome to episode 15 of The Midweek Podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

As the pandemic continues, Laois Martial Arts also continues to teach classes virtually. Shane Culleton is the Head Coach of the club and he joins us on the podcast to discuss the club, his online classes and how important it is to encourage kids that better days are coming. 

On this months Crime Prevention discussion, Garda Graham Kavanagh discusses dogs and how important it is to continue to look after your dog and know their whereabouts at all times.

Letting dogs roam freely for long periods of time could lead to serious issues for local farmers or indeed the public. 

Garda Kavanagh also discusses how to keep your dog safe from theft and having the dog licensed and microchipped as well as keeping them on a lead in public. 

The Hearty Boys from Portarlington have recently released a new single called 'Bobby Sands - My Hero Today'. 

Fran Hearty is one of the members of the group behind the track and he speaks to us about the new song, the band and his love for writing music. 

Hello and welcome to episode 14 of The Midweek Podcast with LaoisToday. 

Coming up on the podcast this week: 

On Monday night, Bernard O'Shea brought his new show 'Bernard's Working Comics' to RTE Television. On the show we seen the Durrow comedian try his hand at being a member of An Garda Siochana. 

Bernard then coached two Gardaí who then went on to present their colleagues with a three minute comedy sketch for the first time. 

One of them Gardaí that took part is Laois Community Garda Joe Fahy. Joe joined us on the podcast to discuss the show, his time with the comedian and if comedy is something he would like to do again. 

During the first lockdown, Maurice O'Carroll decided to put together a short documentary film about Mountrath called 'Mountrath Unlocked'. 

Maurice, originally from Kerry but now resides in Mountrath spoke to businesses and locals about the impact the pandemic is having on them. 

Maurice tells us how the idea came about for the documentary, what it was like speaking with business owners and how difficult locals found it to deal with certain situations. 

Ballyroan musician Brian Carroll joins us for a musical chat this week. 

Brian has recently released a new three track EP and started a new fundraising campaign in aid of the Cuisle Cancer Support Centre in Portlaoise. 

The Ballyroan man is asking the public to donate what they can to help the Centre and in turn you will get a copy of the EP. 

Brian discusses why he chose to do the fundraiser, his music and missing live performances because of the pandemic. 

Thank you for choosing this LaoisToday podcast. The podcast is presented by Portlaoise native Paul Downey and is available on all podcast platforms every Wednesday. Make sure to never miss an episode by subscribing now. Please feel free to rate and review the podcast and most importantly share it with other podcast listeners.