John Whelan
John Whelan has been a journalist, commentator, columnist, political analyst, campaigner, politician and publisher ever since he was 17. Having been Editor of the Leinster Express, Offaly Express and the Leinster Leader he has also contributed extensively on a number of issues to all of the country's flagship titles and programmes including the Irish Press, The Irish Independent, the Star, the Sunday Independent, the Sunday Business Post, The Sunday Times and Prime Time. He is founder of Communicate Ireland a PR, public affairs, event management and media services company.
He is the author of the popular camping blog, Vanhalla - Camper Heaven.
Lots of opportunities for creative communities and schools in Laois this year
The Creative Ireland programme in Laois for 2020 is brimming with ideas on how to engage with communities.
The aim is to continue to invite...
Leniency sought for ‘well meaning’ bottle bank offenders
The scenario.
It’s the week or so after Christmas or New Years.
You load up the wine, beer and mineral bottles in boxes in the boot...
Nuns praised for generous gift of convent site for social housing
Approval has been given for work to advance on a major new social housing development and ancillary services in the heart of Portlaoise town.
The...
Sand bags, stress and sympathy but no quick solutions in sight for Laois flooding
Not surprisingly there have been a flood of concerns over flooding across Laois this week.
Virtually non-stop rainfall and water-logged land have combined to put...
Disabled drivers the loo-sers due to inconvenience of new public convenience
While there is a generally warm welcome for the news that the public toilets in Portlaoise are to be finally renovated and re-opened, not...
Newstalk’s Bobby Kerr gets down to business in Laois next weekend
The popular businessman, Dragon, entrepreneur and radio presenter, Bobby Kerr is in town next weekend.
Bobby Kerr’s, ‘Your Town Your Main Street’ show has been...
John Whelan: Can the man they call AK47 be the one to save Labour
It is nothing if not ironic that the man that the Labour Party will most likely chose to save the day in the face...
How the power of prayer was the secret weapon to get Laois-Offaly TD back...
It might be pushing it a bit far to call it a miracle, but the re-election of one local TD last weekend was against...
The glorious Glimmermen all set for gig in Bergin’s in Portlaoise this weekend
This Valentine's weekend you can celebrate the love or contemplate the heartache with Glimmermen.
The band play live at Bergin's, Portlaoise this Sunday, February 16...
‘Fianna Fáil got no mandate to govern ‘ says elected Seán Fleming
Seán Fleming believes that his party have no place in the next government following the results of the 2020 General Election.
The Fianna Fáil TD,...
Seán Fleming returned to the Dáil for Fianna Fáil on final count
That Seán Fleming had to wait until the 11th and final count in Laois-Offaly to secure his seat in the 33rd Dáil is testament...
Count 8 drama in Kildare South with FF in the firing line
Kildare South is playing out as a bit of a nightmare for Fianna Fáil.
Instead of securing a gain which they had targeted they are...
John Whelan: This wasn’t a Sinn Féin surge, it was a tsunami that stunned...
A Sinn Fein surge, they say. Scratch that. This was a tsunami. A tsunami of support that swept away everything in its political path.
Laois,...
John Whelan: You could go on holidays and still get elected for Sinn Féin
"You could go on holidays and still get elected for Sinn Féin," a shrewd political observer said to me during the week.
It turns out...
GE2020 – a bluffer’s guide to the General Election in numbers
Today, Saturday, February 8 is polling day.
Polling stations will remain open from 7am until 10pm tonight.
Voters will elect 160 TDs across the country in...
Election Memories 1973 & 1977: A Minister for Laois, Hall’s Pictorial Weekly and a...
The two General Elections of the 1970s were the first to be really contested in the full glare of the then relatively new-fangled gadget,...
Election Memories: The turbulent 80s but Laois-Offaly resolutely remains Fianna Fáil country
So you think the political landscape is fragile, fractured and fragmented – well you clearly weren’t around in the 1980s.
The 80s, the decade that...
New Director of Services takes up post at County Hall
A new director-of- Services has taken up his post with Laois County Council.
Mr Joe Delaney attended his first meeting of the local authority last...
Laois-Offaly Constituency to feature on RTE 9 O’ Clock news
The Laois-Offaly constituency will be centre stage on the main RTE 9 O’ Clock news bulletin tonight, Wednesday, February 5.
The hotly contested 5-seat marginal...
New committee set up to liaise on Electric Picnic issues
A new committee has been established to deal with public concerns regarding the Electric Picnic.
And in the long worn tradition of so many Irish...
On the Canvass: Pauline Madigan and a tale of two Flanagans
Some people will do anything to get elected. Pauline Madigan even changed her name.
Pauline, as we all call her anyway, is now Pauline Flanagan.
It’s...
Election Memories from the 1990s – Gallagher rides the Labour wave on the ‘Spring...
The general elections of the 1990s were in sporting parlance, a game of two halves, with a major incident in the tunnel as the...
2002 & 2007 Election Memories: The rise and fall of Parlon and the PDs
In the spring of 2002 Mary Harney courted farm leader Tom Parlon and won him over.
She wiped the eye of Parlon’s other suitor, Michael...
On the Canvass: For Seán Fleming’s campaign every day is a school day
We’re in Clogh. Clogh, Ballacolla.
This is farming country. Fields, cows and sheds everywhere you look.
Seán is biding his time. A man in a big...
Pundit Ivan Yates predicts three Fianna Fáil seats for Laois-Offaly
Pulling no punches and certainly not hedging his bets the former bookie and Fine Gael TD and Minister Ivan Yates has predicted that his...
No takers for St Patrick’s Day trip to New York
In a bizarre turn of events, there are no takers for a trip to New York to represent County Laois at the New York...
Enforcement notice served on illegal Mountrath encampment
Laois County Council have confirmed that they have served an enforcement notice on the illegal encampment of caravans at Shannon Road in Mountrath.
The notice...
Pubs closed, residents in fear as Laois town in lockdown and under siege
A Laois town is this week in lockdown and under siege it has been alleged.
The sensational and extraordinary claim was made at a meeting...
John Leahy hoping to make it third time lucky in Laois-Offaly
Kilcormac based councillor, John Leahy is on the ballot for Laois-Offaly for the third time. He hopes he can make the breakthrough and get...
Election Memories: FF meltdown makes way for Stanley in Laois-Offaly in 2011
Have you seen the 1917 World War 1 movie?
Well the 2011 General Election was something similar … for Fianna Fáil. They got slaughtered.
The unprecedented...