Sinead Brennan

Electric Picnic 2025 is officially underway, with 80,000 festivalgoers set to descend on Stradbally, Co Laois, across the weekend. RTÉ News finds out which acts people are looking forward to seeing the most. With Hozier set to make an emotionally resonant return to home ground, Sam Fender bringing indie rock anthems and emotional directness and Chappell Roan injecting camp pop flair and theatrical touches, there's much to enjoy in the festival's 22nd edition.

An off-grid micro-distillery has opened on Lambay Island, three miles off the coast of Dublin. The distillery is believed to be one of the first of its kind in the world and it is aiming to be as sustainable as possible to preserve Lambay's unique ecosystem. Production of whiskey on the island will take place for six months of the year, when water is most plentiful and to minimise its impact on the island's resources.

As the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis begins, cardinals will be voting multiple times per day until a two-thirds majority vote is reached. People from all over the world will be watching the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel for black or white smoke as the cardinals' votes are burned and a signal is sent to the public. Black smoke means that a pope has not yet been elected. When white smoke emerges, it means a new pope has been chosen. But how do they make the coloured smoke?