Sinéad Hussey

Midlands Correspondent

The judges will be evaluating Abbeyleix over three days

Abbeyleix prepares for Communities in Bloom competition

Judging in the international Communities in Bloom competition will get under way in the Co Laois village of Abbeyleix.

Leinster • 26 Jun

Cian Neary's dog Cooper - the charity was set up to reunite children in hospital with their pets

Charity calls for sustained funding to expand services

Cian's Kennels, a children's charity founded in memory of Longford teenager Cian Neary, is calling for sustained government funding so it can expand its services nationwide.

Leinster • 25 Jun

Rian Sheridan was on his way home from football training when he died

Man jailed over fatal road crash in Roscommon last year

The mother of a young man killed in a two-vehicle collision involving a lorry and a car in Co Roscommon last year has said that they are "paying the ultimate price" for a truck driver's dangerous driving and she has appealed to all commercial drivers to put safety above all else.

Connacht • 01 Jul

Emma Fogarty, from Abbeyleix in Co Laois, celebrates her 41st birthday on Wednesday

Emma Fogarty gets 2,000 messages ahead of 41st birthday

Ireland's longest-surviving person battling the most severe type of the skin condition epidermolysis bullosa, also known as Butterfly Skin, has received 2,000 birthday messages ahead of her birthday this week.

Ireland • 24 Jun

How Athlone may look in 2050 as depicted by RTÉ programme Futureville Ireland

€5bn plan to turn Athlone into a green city unveiled

A €5bn master plan has been unveiled for a new green sustainable city in Athlone as a solution to Ireland's future population growth.

Leinster • 22 Jun

The world-record attempt took place at Mullingar Rugby Club

Records for longest games of men and women's rugby broken

The Guinness World Records for the longest game of both men and women's rugby have been broken. In 'The Longest Game', the men's record stood at 30 hours 29 minutes while the women's record was 24 hours and 5 minutes.

Leinster • 19 Jun

The project was developed in collaboration with communities across Offaly, Louth, and Meath

Project highlighting rural peatland link opened in Offaly

A new project that aims to reimagines Ireland's relationship with its peatlands through architecture, community and creativity has been launched in Co Offaly.

Leinster • 19 Jun

Emergency services at the scene in Frenchpark, Roscommon

Man dies in house fire in Co Roscommon

A man has died in a fire at a house in Frenchpark, Co Roscommon.

Connacht • 19 Jun

An investigation into the fire is under way

Emergency services at scene of Roscommon house fire

Emergency services are at the scene of a fire in Frenchpark in Co Roscommon.

Connacht • 18 Jun

Court told death of young man in road crash 'avoidable'

The family of a young man killed in a road crash in Co Roscommon last year have said that his death would have been "completely avoidable" if the owner and driver of the articulated truck that his car collided with acted responsibly as a road user.

Connacht • 19 Jun