The LoveLaois Podcast returns and the focus of this episode is on the big local political story of the week.

Fianna Fail's Padraig Fleming has announced that he will retire from politics in the coming months. 

It was a shock to everyone with Alan Hartnett and Steven Miller giving their initial reaction on the episode. 

After that, the discussion meanders on to matters in the Middle East where a number of Laois people got caught up in the US/Iran/Israel conflict. 

Finally, there is high praise for a Laois County Council initiative celebrating people who reach 100 years of age.  

Gerry Duffy is a speaker and author in High Performance working with business leaders and teams to help them perform at their best and he joins us on the latest episode of the LaoisToday LoveLaois Business podcast ahead of his appearance in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel next week as part of Local Enterprise week.

He has worked with over 1,000 organisations across Ireland and internationally, ranging from SMEs to global brands, helping people improve focus, execution and results in fast-paced environments.

Gerry chats to us about some of the the challenges that business owners have - and what they can do to improve.

Gerry is speaking in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel on Tuesday, March 3, from 6-7pm.
His talk in Abbeyleix is titled 'Five business resources every leader should use - but most never do'. 

The event is free to attend and you can find out more information here.

The LaoisToday LoveLaois Business podcast is brought to you in association with the Local Enterprise Office Laois. 

Is there any business owner or manager that wouldn't like to make their business more efficient?
John O'Shanahan, owner of business improvement consultancy Lean BPI, joins us on this episode ahead of his webinar which is part of this year's Local Enterprise week.
He chats about some of the practices businesses can adapt and some of the grants that are available.
John's webinar - titled Working Smarter for Lean and Digital: Practical lessons for today's small businesses - is free to attend and is on from 12.30pm to 1.15pm on Friday, March 6, as part of Local Enterprise week. You can book your spot here.
The LaoisToday LoveLaois Business podcast is brought to you in association with the Local Enterprise Office Laois. 

Local Portlaoise band The Controversy joined us for a special musical feature on this week’s LoveLaois Podcast.

Work-experience student Samanta Danne made her official debut as the host as she sat down to interview the rising Laois act.

Fresh off their 2025 Electric Youth win that gave them an amazing opportunity to perform at the Electric Picnic, Samanta gets to know the group — drummer Adam Reilly, singer Erin O’Dwyer, bassist Neive Leith and guitarist Aidan Dermody — and their experiences as young musicians in Laois.

They talk about how they first met through Friday Jam sessions and how they played their proper first gig together as a band while competing in the Electric Youth competition.

Each member opened up about their musical backgrounds, writing their own original music, how they balance band practice alongside other commitments like school, and the wide-ranging influences – from Jazz to Rock- that have shaped them individually and collectively into a fresh, innovative band.

In true newsroom fashion, Alan also made an impromptu appearance to ask Aidan more about his Costa Rican background, as he’d just moved to Ireland two years ago.

The band also spoke about what it’s like to grow within the Laois music scene and the support they found locally like Music Generation.

They even bravely answered– with plenty of hesitation – the question of naming their dream collaborations with musicians both dead or alive.

With their next gig set for Sally Gardens on March 7, this is the perfect time to get to know more about this up-and-coming Laois band, The Controversy.

To follow them on social media, you can find them on:
Tiktok: @thecontroversy_official
Instagram: @the_controversyofficial.

No guest this week but there is still plenty to talk about on the latest episode of the LoveLaois Podcast. 

Steven Miller is joined by Alan Hartnett where the pair reflect on the recent goings on in Laois County Council. 

Steven was at the Portlaoise Municipal meeting while Alan was at the Graiguecullen-Portarlington equivalent. 

The lads go threw the motions and pick out their favourites - and award their 'Councillor of the meeting'. 

They also discuss the decision to remove SNAs, which has been paused, and also somehow end up talking about the Eurovision!

It has been a busy week in LaoisToday. Alan has been out and about at two ministerial visits to the county and Steven was at Fianna Fáil's big bash in the Midlands Park Hotel to celebrate the party's centenary. 
All of those, however, pale into insignificance compared to Steven's big trip to Camross for a somewhat historic meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick Municipal District. As well as discussing the motions and the councillors, bridges and floods, one of the big decisions of the week was whether to have the Camross Club or the Killanure Klassic in the Poet's Cottage. 
Work experience student Samanta Danne make her podcast debut, chatting about the residential tenancies bill, while Alan also has a fascinating update about a movie filmed in Stradbally and which Abbeyleix man Reuben Harvey was very much involved in on the production side.

After 45 years in Laois County Council, Willie Aird was elected to Dáil Éireann in December 2024 and has now a year under his belt as a TD. 
He sits down with us for a chat on the experience so far, getting used to the workings in Leinster House, what it's like being a TikTok star and how he has adjusted his farming life with his new role. 
Plus, he chats about the next General Election, the popularity of the Healy-Raes and occasionally getting on the wrong side of the Ceann Comhairle. 

A wide and varied episode if ever there was one. 
We remember Andy Bergin, the former Timahoe publican who passed away, as well as Leon de Barra, a former school principal, who also died this week. 
Plus we discuss the planning permission that has been granted for the new Dunamase College in Portlaoise, the malting barley controversy and a variety of topics that came up at the full meeting of Laois County Council this week - from hot school meals to St Patrick's Day in New York, approved housing bodies to a United Ireland. 

The latest episode of the LoveLaois Podcast is here and this one sees us looking back on events from the past week. 

Steven Miller is joined by Alan Hartnett where the pair reflect on recent Laois County Council meetings that they attended. 

Steven was at the Portlaoise Municipal meeting while Alan attended the Graiguecullen-Portarlington meeting. 

They each give a run down of the various motions and issues that were raised. 

The lads also chat about some of the other news stories from the last week. 

Steven and Alan return for a chat about some of the week's stories.
Steven attended an almost-private showing of the Portlaoise Pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Beours and was pushed way past his comfort zone. But he was well impressed with the show and couldn't recommend it highly enough. 
The lads also chat about the well-mannered councillors in the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick Municipal District which Steven attended this week while Alan is on the lookout for two recent lotto winners in Laois. 
They also chat briefly about the Mercusor deal, why it discommoded Alan's soccer, and about Dancing with the Stars and Katelyn Cummins's emergence as the bookies favourite.