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The Week that Was: Our most read stories of the past seven days

1 – Laois Abroad: The Abbeyleix girl who headed Down Under and changed her life

Abbeyleix native Zoe Killeen packed up her life shortly after her 21st birthday in October 2013 and headed for Brisbane in Australia.

With no degree or qualifications, moving Down Under gave Zoe the chance to start over and battle the anxiety that she suffered growing up – which she surely has!

2 – Sadness following passing of Laois principal who ‘united three schools’

There was deep sadness recently following the passing of a former principal.

Gerard O’Brien, from Portlaoise, passed away on Friday February 26 surrounded by his loving family.

Mr O’Brien was the principal of Coláiste Phobal Ros Cré from its creation in 1999 until his retirement a few years ago.

3 – Laois fire service tackling Slieve Bloom blaze

Units of Laois Fire and Rescue from Portlaoise, Mountmellick, Rathdowney and Mountrath stations tackled a gorse fire in the Slieve Bloom mountains on Sunday evening.

The blaze started earlier in the day on Clonlawn Hill near Ballyfin and quickly spread as fire units reacted to try and bring it under control.

4 – WATCH: Dramatic dangerous driving incident captured on Laois road

Dramatic footage of a dangerous driving incident on a Laois road has been captured.

Footage, shot from the vehicle behind, shows a van weaving dangerously from lane to lane on the N80 before eventually being forced to stop by the vehicle behind.

The video begins as the driver of the van, believed to be a Volkswagen Crafter, is moving down the Windy Gap towards Stradbally.

5 – Two Laois soccer players sign professional first-team contracts with Bohemians

League of Ireland Premier Division club Bohemians have confirmed that eight Bohs-St Kevin’s Boys academy graduates have signed professional terms with the first team – and two of them are from Laois.

Portlaoise’s Colin Conroy and Aaron Doran are now part of Keith Long’s first team having signed their first ever professional contracts.

6 – From the LaoisToday Archives: New pub opens its doors in Portlaoise

This piece was originally published on LaoisToday on March 10, 2017.

It told the story of how The Bog Road, now an award winning establishment, first opened its doors.

7 – Laois man appointed manager of Dundalk ahead of new League of Ireland season

Rathdowney native Shane Keegan has been appointed as the first team manager of League of Ireland side Dundalk ahead of the commencement of the new season.

Keegan, who formerly managed Wexford Youth and Galway – and is set to manage Rathdowney Errill later this year – originally joined the club in 2020 as an opposition analyst but his role moved closer to the first team later in the year when Filippo Giovagnoli and Giuseppe Rossi took over from Vinny Perth.

8 – In Pictures: Laois school develop outdoor classroom and gardens

Portarlington BNS are developing a very special space that will be used as an outdoor classroom.

Located on the grounds of the school, the ‘Trinity Loop’ will be four separate areas: The Sensory Garden, The Outdoor Classroom, The Vegetable Garden and The Wild Willow Woodland.

9 – Ball wall, astroturf, walking track and clubhouse extension – range of planning applications submitted to improve sports facilities in Laois

A range of sporting bodies in Laois have submitted planning applications in recent weeks in a bid to improve facilities in the county.

Laois GAA, Arles-Killeen, Clonad and Castletown Community Sports Field Development have all sought planning permission.

10 – Here is the 2020 LaoisToday premier intermediate hurling Team of the Year

The first ever Laois premier intermediate hurling championship is still awaiting its conclusion.

But we picked our team from the games that have taken place – with five clubs represented.