The LoveLaois Podcast

Barbara Aldritt from Bankz Hair and Beauty is a special guest on the LoveLaois Podcast this week, fresh from announcing that she is set to close her doors after more than 30 years in business. She chats about how she became a hairdresser after leaving school at 15, how she lived and worked in Australia and moved home and set up her own business in 1993. She chats about the industry in general, the challenges, her experiences over the years and her decision to close. 

Alan is back from his holidays but when he was gone we had a short-term replacement - Tanaiste Simon Harris. Harris was in Laois on Friday and as part of his visit to the Portlaoise Enterprise Centre, he dropped into the LaoisToday office for a very quick interview. Alan reacts to that interview and reflects on some of the recent local news. - Former councillor Michael Lalor passes away, RIP- Two big appointments in Laois County Council- The Bike Library- Portugal's answer to Timahoe- Killeshin Stores closes its doors- New school for Portarlington- Skipping mass

After a brief break, the LoveLaois Podcast returns and there is plenty to talk about.Steven Miller and Alan Hartnett have attended four Council meetings over the last two weeks.The pair reflect on the main talking points - including one about a roundabout in Mountrath and the fact some Laois Property Tax could be ending up in Carlow. 

Alan had a typically busy and varied week. He spent most of Monday in Laois County Council at the monthly meeting and he spent the rest of the week writing stories from it. He also went to watch the Ireland soccer team in a week where it was about everything except the match. He chats about his Dublin Media Group Think Theory on all of that. Plus he chats about the Electric Picnic being discussed in the council chamber. Steven, meanwhile, is very disappointed about the state of an infamous road in the county . 

Steven and Alan are back with the latest episode of the LoveLaois Podcast in a week when there were two Municipal District meetings in Laois County Council. Roads, pedestrian crossings and playgrounds were among the hot topics as was the Portlaoise Bus Service, an idle pitch and the entrances to the new housing estates. They also chat about a ministerial visit for the opening of a smashing new facility in Durrow, Steven's rant on outdoor gyms and they pay tribute to former councillor David Goodwin, who passed away during the week. Plus, there is a ban on Steven laughing at his own jokes. 

With September comes a certain level of routine in the local news cycle so there's plenty to talk about on this week's LoveLaois Podcast.Steven and Alan chat about the retirement of Donal Brennan from Laois County Council, a local link to the 9/11 memories, how Muhammad Ali's gloves ended up in Ballylinan, the latest Electric Picnic debate and Martina Mulhall's outstanding series of career interviews.

Electric Picnic is over for another year and Alan Hartnett and Steven Miller have sat down for a special edition of the LoveLaois Podcast to look back on their weekend in Stradbally.From their live show alongside former Laois footballer Colm Parkinson and The Smaller Fish to navigating their way around the enormous festival site, the lads reflect on three very different days at Ireland's biggest music and arts festival.For Alan, Friday was particularly music-heavy. He caught Darren Kiely, Jade, Zara Larsson, Sombr and Lewis Capaldi, with the latter bringing the opening night to a spectacular conclusion on the Main Stage.Saturday brought another busy schedule as Alan took in Belter's Only, Duke Dumont and Le Boom, while there was also plenty of discussion about the general Electric Picnic experience and the challenge of getting around the sprawling Stradbally site.And then came Amble. Alan had previously been less than complimentary about the Irish folk group – describing them as “boring” – but after seeing them live on Sunday, he performs a U-turn and offers an apology.Steven's Sunday included two very different musical institutions as he caught The Saw Doctors and Van Morrison, but his Electric Picnic experience was less about ticking acts off a list and more about the people he encountered along the way.That included bumping into plenty of familiar faces over the course of the weekend – not least a sizeable contingent of the Mayo footballers enjoying their time in Stradbally.There is a more serious local discussion too, as Steven reflects on his conversation with Electric Picnic Festival Director Melvin Benn during the build-up to this year's event.With around 80,000 people descending on Stradbally for the festival each year, Steven discusses whether Electric Picnic could and should do more to leave a lasting positive imprint on its host community once the stages come down, the campsites empty and the festival moves on for another year.From Capaldi and Amble to Mayo footballers, Colm Parkinson and the relationship between Electric Picnic and Stradbally, the latest LoveLaois Podcast looks back on another memorable weekend on Laois soil.

Alan Hartnett made his annual pilgrimage to the Junket of the Year on Tuesday - the press day at Electric Picnic. It's a day of seeing the site, meeting the festival director, free lunch and a goodie bag. It's always a great day out and he was joined by our camera man Paul Dargan once again. He joins Steven for a chat about some of the Electric Picnic changes, the acts he's looking forward to seeing, the characters you're likely to meet and planning the LaoisToday coverage of an event that never fails to disappoint. LaoisToday will be in the Ah Hear tent in Mindfield on Friday 4pm interviewing Colm Parkinson from the Smaller Fish Podcast. Free LaoisToday hats up for grabs

Pearse Doherty from the Saw Doctors joins us on the latest episode of the LoveLaois Podcast as this year's Electric Picnic is now just days away. The Saw Doctors are playing on Sunday at 5.30pm on the Main Stage and for bass player Pearse Doherty it is the latest moment of a remarkable career in the music and entertainment industry. He was part of the band in their breakthrough years in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s before a career change brought him elsewhere, including a spell as site manager for Electric Picnic, when he'd arrive in Stradbally as the Steam Rally was finishing up and stay until the festival was over. He chats about the enduring success of the Picnic and what it will be like to be on the Main Stage with the Saw Doctors. They are enjoying a surge in popularity and have been the sound of the summer with their iconic hit The Green and Red of Mayo getting countless plays since Mayo's stunning All Ireland final success.

From spending his teenage summers caddying in Adare Manor to launching an AI-powered golf app that is already making waves in Ireland and beyond, Killenard-based entrepreneur Barry Moroney is the latest guest on the LoveLaois Business Podcast.Barry sits down with Alan Hartnett to discuss the journey that has taken him from Limerick to Laois, through careers in marketing, six years living in Dubai, life as a digital nomad across Europe, and ultimately to creating ApexGolf – an app designed to help amateur golfers improve through personalised practice and fitness plans.The conversation begins long before ApexGolf came to life, with Barry recalling his first experience as a teenage caddie at Adare Manor, where carrying bags for visiting golfers became an unexpected education in business, confidence and communication.He also speaks openly about changing career paths after deciding teaching wasn't for him, the lessons he learned from working in sales during the recession, and why starting a service-based business gave him the confidence to eventually pursue a much more ambitious idea.Barry explains how his own frustrations as an amateur golfer sparked the concept for ApexGolf, why he shelved the idea for several years, and how the emergence of artificial intelligence finally allowed him to turn it into reality.He offers a fascinating insight into the months of development, the pressures of launching a technology business and why first impressions mattered so much before releasing the app to the public.Listeners will also hear why Barry believes many golfers are practising the wrong way, how fitness is one of the most overlooked aspects of the game, and how ApexGolf aims to give ordinary golfers the same structured approach that elite athletes use to improve their performance.Throughout the podcast, Barry reflects on the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, the importance of taking calculated risks and why he believes careers are rarely straightforward journeys.It's an honest conversation about resilience, business, innovation and building something from scratch.Whether you're a golfer, an aspiring entrepreneur or simply interested in hearing the story of a Laois-based business with global ambitions, this is an episode not to be missed.