The village of Rosenallis was the star of RTE’s Today Show as Daithi O’Se and the crew spent the day in the region and highlighted everything Midlands from STEM education to Tourism, Food & Drink, History, Music and more…
The strength of STEM education in the Midlands was highlighted at Rosenallis National School. The small rural school of just 85 pupils become National Winners in the VEX Robotics National Finals held in Cork earlier this year. As national winners, they will travel to Missouri in the United States to represent Ireland at the World VEX Robotics Championships, along with students from 2 other Midlands schools, the Sacred Heart Tullamore and Tullamore College, who also won at Nationals. As part of the competition, students work in teams to build and code their own robots and compete in team challenges, and students from the school took Daithi and the RTE team through demonstrations of the games.
The Midlands is a leading region for STEM education, with dedicated STEM Officers in all 4 counties working with hundreds of schools and thousands of students each year on over 25 different STEM education programmes. Highlighting early education, RTE also visited Laois Forest School run by Ailbhe Joyce, where outdoor education and nature-connection building courses teach primary-aged children through nature in the mountains, against the stunning backdrop of Glenbarrow.
Set at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, the crew visited The Village Tap in Rosenallis Village. The village was without a local pub for almost 7 years, when a village committee was established to come together and through their work, the opportunity to reopen the village pub was highlighted. Three locals came together and decided to reopen the pub, investing in the historic building which dates back to the 1730’s and opening a beautiful new pub which has created a new hub for the whole community and brought a new vibrancy back to the village. The Tidy Towns committee and the community are coming together to develop the village which is a perfect tourism destination, close to the Glenbarrow Waterfall, the Ridge of Capard, the Lost Village, Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails and connected to the wider network of picturesque villages running across the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The team at the Village Inn provided the perfect location for the RTE team to discover a true Midlands welcome with music, food, warm fires, a welcoming atmosphere, and even the chance to take part in a Tug of War with the local team.
At the Village Tap, Chef Yvonne Carty of Hey Pesto highlighted the best of Midlands regional food and drink in the cookery segments, creating a delicious selection of Crostini’s and Chocolate Brownies. The recipes were filled with regional produce from Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath, with thanks to Meuller O’Connell Bakery, Garryhinch Wood Exotic Mushrooms, Glenisk, O’Mimo’s Chilli Madness, Heathland Orchards, Wild Irish Foragers, G’s Gourmet Jams, Tullamore DEW Whiskey, The Village Dairy, Barbavilla Dairy, Ion Oils, Cameler Spice Co, Feighery’s Farm Beetroot Juice, Fox Covert Farm, Glenfield Oils and the Farmhouse Bees and Trees. Abbeyleix singer songwriter Brian Killeen entertained locals and closed out the show with music in the bar.
