1 – Three Laois Gardai among 165 new recruits who pass out from Templemore
165 Gardaí were attested as sworn members of An Garda Síochána at a ceremony in Templemore College last week.
Of those, three hail from county Laois. The first of these is Paul O’Flynn and the second if Stephanie Carter from Ballyroan.
2 – Laois school principal set to retire after 26 years of distinguished service
One of Laois’s longest-serving secondary school principals is set to retire at the end of this term, following 26 years of distinguished service.
Helen O’Donnell, who has been principal of Scoil Chriost Ri in Portlaoise since 1998, informed staff and students this week of her decision to retire.
The highly respected and popular principal came to Portlaoise as principal in 1998, taking over from Sister Marie Therese.
3 – Full list of properties sold in Laois during February including one house sold for over half a million euro
There were 46 residential properties sold in Laois in the second month of the year according to the Property Price Register, a significant decrease on the 2023 figure.
Last February saw 82 homes sold – almost double that sold in 2024.
The fall of 44% is second consecutive monthly decline in Laois property sales, but is almost double the 28% decrease in sales figures from January 2024 to January 2023.
4 – A first for Laois as Independent Ireland party candidate declares to contest Local Election
One of the newest political parties in Ireland will have a candidate in Laois in the Local Elections which are set to take place on June 7.
Timahoe man Patsy Fennell has declared that he will run for the newly formed Independent Ireland party.
Under the slogan of ‘community first, common sense and real change’, Fennell will be hoping to win one of the six available seats in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington area.
5 – In Pictures: Serious style as Crettyard Ladies football club celebrates 50th anniversary
The Talbot Hotel in Carlow was a hub of activity on Saturday night as Crettyard Ladies football club celebrated their 50th anniversary.
As part of this celebration, the club also celebrated their Junior County Champions team of 2023.
The night was a major celebration of Crettyard’s successes over the years, with music, entertainment and reminiscing.
6 – Speed limit changes expected across Ireland according to Laois County Council
Mr James Dowling, Senior Executive Engineer at Laois County Council has revealed that the Department of Transport is preparing legislation for changes to speed limits across Ireland.
The announcement came in response to Fianna Fáil Cllr John Joe Fennelly, who was speaking at the March meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District this week.
Cllr Fennelly had called on the County Council to “extend the 50 kph speed limit on the Portlaoise Road, Abbeyleix to include all houses up to the island lane junction.”
7 – Leinster U-20 FC: O’Brien and Brown on form as Laois make winning start against Carlow
The Laois U-20 footballers made a winning to the Leinster U-20 championship in desperate conditions on Tuesday.
On a sodden pitch that was barely playable in the Centre of Excellence, Kieran Kelly’s charges got the better of neighbours Carlow by seven points.
Corner forward Jamie O’Brien did the bulk of the scoring with 2-4 while keeper Conor Brown was flawless down the other end.
8 – Revised, reduced fares to become available for public transport in Portlaoise in the future
Revised, reduced fares will become available for public transport in Portlaoise in the future according to Laois County Council.
Speaking at the March meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District this week, Mr Simon Walton, Director of Services told members that the National Transport Authority (NTA) intends to publish plans for the second phase of implementation of the National Fares Strategy later in 2024.
Mr Walton said this will extend the Commuter Zone “to areas beyond the new Dublin Commuter Area, including Portlaoise, where a revised system of fares will be introduced for inter-city rail and national bus services.”
9 – New Timahoe walking facilty Esker Lane is officially opened
The opening of the redevelopment of Esker Lane took place in Timahoe on Sunday where a nice crowd gathered to mark the occasion.
Roghan Headen, secretary of Tigh Mochua le Chéile, spoke about the history of the Lane and the involvement of Tigh Mochua le Chéile and Laois County Council, regarding the procurement of the grant from Oris funding.
He paid special mention to both Ann Marie Maher and Rose Doolin from the County Council for their assistance.
10 – Leinster MFC: Dominant first half sees Dublin defeat Laois in championship opener
The Laois minor footballers were beaten in Round 1 of the Leinster championship by Dublin in the Centre of Excellence on Wednesday evening.
Ger Slevin’s charges were blown away by the visitors in the first half – trailing by 18 points at half time.
While it would have been easy for them to throw in the towel at that point, the lads deserve tremendous credit for sticking at it in the second half.
SEE ALSO – Seven Talking Points as the Laois senior footballers claimed Division 4 glory in style
