The annual summer migration of travellers was the subject of much local disquiet. "We can't cope with travellers," the Bray People was told by the Wicklow county secretary, Mr Brian Doyle. At an unauthorised halting site in Greystones, the number of caravans has recently doubled in number to 40, many belonging to "non-indigenous" travellers who moved the large boulders which the council had placed to protect the site.
"The site is now a major health hazard. The local stream is being polluted with human waste, the carcass of a dead horse is being left to be eaten by vermin and a pack of dogs has been running around," a local resident said. The Wicklow People's headline reported "Fury as travellers arrive in new car park again: Rathdrum fears for image in run-up to festival".
Gardai who are investigating the burning of two mobile homes in Claremorris "believe that the fires were malicious and that no member of the travelling community was involved in the incident," said The Western People.
By contrast, The Kerryman's lead story focused on travellers' rights: "Kerry publicans who refuse to serve members of the traveller community may not be able to renew their licences, Circuit Court Judge Sean O'Leary warned this week." In the course of a court case, the solicitor for "three members of the traveller community" told the judge that they had to hire a taxi to take them from Tralee to Castlemaine so they could be served in a bar.
The Mayo News dared to be politically incorrect: "It is an interesting observation that while there has been universal disapproval of the intemperate remarks on the travellers' issue made by Mayo County Councillor, John Flannery, the opposition to the gist of his comments has been far more muted. The reality of the situation is that his views are shared, to a greater or lesser degree, by many people who would consider themselves fair-minded, objective and reasonable.
"Such views may not be politically correct, but it would be a denial of the facts to say that mistrust, suspicion and antipathy to travellers no longer exists in this country.
"Members of the travelling community are today more articulate, more self-confident and more assertive of their rights as equal citizens than they have ever been before. And that is as it should be, but what antagonises so many of the settled population is the insistence of the travellers that they are entitled to their unique culture and distinct way of life, without a reciprocal sense of duty and responsibility."
The computers are set for delivery in Ennis, but "for thousands of Ennis people, the information superhighway is on the slow lane to nowhere," said the Clare Champion. "The latest progress report issued by the town's Information Age Task Force reveals that many of those eligible to share in the 15 million Telecom windfall have chosen to let the project pass them by."
There's no chance of missing the highway in Durrow, where 22 road signs are being erected by the National Roads Authority as part of a nationwide policy of upgrading. "Durrow's greens have been desecrated and those road signs are a blight on the square," a local resident told the Leinster Express.
Longford is a "tourist desert", says The Rough Guide and two other major guidebooks agree, said the Longford Leader. The self-cleansing Universal Superloo ("complete with audio instructions") could change that. "Do it in style with the new Superloo!" exhorted the newspaper. "While some are content to dismiss the Midlands as dull and boring, this won't be the case in relation to the public conveniences here," it added.
A "furious row" in Sligo arose when Alderman Declan Bree alleged that a number of councillors had been "wined and dined" by the makers of a superloo, allegations which were strongly refuted. How else, one might ask, could they be expected to try the thing out? One councillor said that he "had recently seen the superloo in operation in Ennis and it was so impressive it looked more like a tourist office than a toilet".
The Connacht Tribune expressed astonishment at an "incredible" property sale: a quarter-acre site in South Connemara broke all records when it was sold at auction for £155,000. The site contains a "dilapidated cottage that is beyond repair and only fit for demolition" - but it has a "panoramic view" of the sea.
Joyous editorial reaction to the Yes majority in the May 22nd referenda was tempered by the Impartial Reporter, which believed that "into all this euphoria, there must be injected a dose of realism.
"The fact is, a large section of the Protestant population felt sufficiently worried to vote No. In addition to the people who would say no to just about everything, there are many who genuinely yearn for a settlement, but could not find it in their conscience to accept this one. That cannot simply be ignored."