The Big Story

Offaly's Fintan Costello has working with Penneys for over 30 years.

In 2023, he became Head of Penneys Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

He's been looking back on his career with Will Faulkner on the Midlands Today Show.

A group of students in Our Lady's Bower in Athlone have come up with a simple idea that's solving a problem many farmers know well - what to do with all those large empty bags.

Their invention, called Rebag, is designed to neatly store and reuse big sacks like feed bags, fertiliser bags and turf bags instead of throwing them away.

The idea has already caught the attention of the farming community and helped the students win the Westmeath stage of the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals.

They'll now go on to represent the county at the national finals in May. Joining me are the three students behind the project - Amy Reynolds, Hannah O'Connor and Ruby Duane from Green Yard have been speaking with Midlands 103's Sinéad Hubble.

Bressie says he hopes sharing the story of pregnancy loss will help break the silence and support others facing similar heartbreak.

Mullingar's Niall Breslin says it was the most devastating moment when doctors told him and his partner Louize they could not detect their baby’s heartbeat.

The mental health advocate says only minutes earlier they had excitedly discussing the kind of parents they hoped to become.

The author and singer says he decided to write about the experience from a male perspective, in his new book The Place That Has Never Been Wounded, because it's not just about grief it’s about utter love.

He's been speaking with Will Faulkner on the Midlands Today Show:

A 91-year-old Athlone man is among those waiting for a flight out of Dubai.

Terry Carmody, was on holidays with his family and was due to fly home on Monday but the flight was cancelled.

Two Emirates flights between Dublin and Dubai are going ahead today, the first ones since hostilities broke out last weekend.

Terry's grandson in law Aaron Bannon Whelan says they arranged a flight themselves for Friday but there's been no contact from the embassy:

A Westmeath woman says she started noticing she had patches of hair loss at 15.

Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh has Alopecia Areata and says she was so scared when she had to go for a wig.

She has set up the Hair Loss Haven to help others suffering with the condition.

The Mullingar woman has been speaking with Sinéad Hubble on Midlands 103 and says she had always taken really good care of her hair: