Westlife are back in Dublin for a record-breaking 13-night residency at the 3Arena, 25 years after they first became Ireland's biggest musical export.

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From Sligo schoolboys to global chart stars, the band's story is one of extraordinary success, personal setbacks and remarkable longevity.

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Today on The Indo Daily, Fionnán Sheehan speaks to Aoife Rooney, features writer with the Irish Independent, and Eddie Rowley, showbiz editor with the Sunday World, to look at how Westlife survived boyband burnout, Brian McFadden's departure, bankruptcy, changing musical tastes and the collapse of the boyband era itself.

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Why are they still filling arenas in 2026 when so many of their rivals have faded away?

Westlife are back in Dublin for a record-breaking 13-night residency at the 3Arena, 25 years after they first became Ireland's biggest musical export.
­
­
From Sligo schoolboys to global chart stars, the band's story is one of extraordinary success, personal setbacks and remarkable longevity.
­
Today on The Indo Daily, Fionnán Sheehan speaks to Aoife Rooney, features writer with the Irish Independent, and Eddie Rowley, showbiz editor with the Sunday World, to look at how Westlife survived boyband burnout, Brian McFadden's departure, bankruptcy, changing musical tastes and the collapse of the boyband era itself.
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Why are they still filling arenas in 2026 when so many of their rivals have faded away?

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How Westlife survived fame, bankruptcy and boyband burnout to make a fresh fortune 

Two years after winning her civil case against Conor McGregor, Nikita Hand is telling her story in her own words. In her memoir Not the Perfect Victim, she writes about the assault, her battle for justice and the personal cost of becoming one of the most recognisable women in Ireland. Irish Independent writer Tanya Sweeney joins Fionnán Sheahan on the Indo Daily to share what she learnt from meeting Nikita Hand, and how she is trying to build a new life after the verdict.

We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism.

Two years after winning her civil case against Conor McGregor, Nikita Hand is telling her story in her own words. In her memoir Not the Perfect Victim, she writes about the assault, her battle for justice and the personal cost of becoming one of the most recognisable women in Ireland. Irish Independent writer Tanya Sweeney joins Fionnán Sheahan on the Indo Daily to share what she learnt from meeting Nikita Hand, and how she is trying to build a new life after the verdict.
We want to earn your trust and are members of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at <a href="https://www.independent.ie/service/our-journalism/a/98708550.html">independent.ie/ourjournalism</a>.

Nikita Hand: ‘Not the Perfect Victim’ and life after Conor McGregor

In September 1956, a schoolboy in County Down made a shocking discovery after peering into a hen house and locking eyes with a child.  

Those eyes belonged to seven-year-old Kevin Halfpenny – better known ever since as ‘the hen house boy’. 

Robbed of social interaction, Kevin seemed to have learned his behaviour from the chickens around him. His widowed mother Margaret Halfpenny was arrested and pleaded guilty to neglect.  

70 years later, we revisit a tragically human story that became overwhelmed by folklore.  

Host: Olivia Peden 

Guest: Kurtis Reid 

This episode of The Indo Daily is brought to you by our sister podcast The BelTel.  

The Indo Daily is part of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism 

In September 1956, a schoolboy in County Down made a shocking discovery after peering into a hen house and locking eyes with a child. &nbsp;
Those eyes belonged to seven-year-old Kevin Halfpenny – better known ever since as ‘the hen house boy’.&nbsp;
Robbed of social interaction, Kevin seemed to have learned his behaviour from the chickens around him. His widowed mother Margaret Halfpenny was arrested and pleaded guilty to neglect. &nbsp;
70 years later, we revisit a tragically human story that became overwhelmed by folklore. &nbsp;
Host: Olivia Peden&nbsp;
Guest: Kurtis Reid&nbsp;
This episode of The Indo Daily is brought to you by our sister podcast The BelTel. &nbsp;
The Indo Daily is part of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism&nbsp;

‘Hen House Boy’: A story of neglect that shocked Ireland 

He was the man who presided over one of the country’s most turbulent events, when Ireland’s Celtic Tiger came crashing down.  

Now, a new book chronicling the political life of Brian Cowen has hit the shelves.  

Cowen's time as taoiseach was defined by the banking crash, the recession and the financial crisis that transformed the country.  

So, what led to the Offaly man's political rise?   

What light does this book shed on his time in Leinster house?   

And how will history remember the man who handled the bailout?  

On today’s Indo Daily, Tessa Fleming is joined by the Irish Independent’s Ireland editor, Fionnán Sheahan, to discuss Gary Murphy’s new book, Brian Cowen: Anatomy of a Taoiseach, and the crisis that defined his tenure. 

 

How Westlife survived fame, bankruptcy and boyband burnout to make a fresh fortune

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