A VAMPIRE has been captured in Kerry. Not the bloodsucking, Bram Stoker type from Transylvania, but an extremely rare squid which was brought ashore by a Dingle fishing crew.
The Kerryman has a photograph of the dead marine creature, spread out on the beach, its long tentacles joined by a black bat like webbing.
One of the first of its kind to be found in Irish waters, the Vlad Tepes of the deep was part of an eerie assortment caught by prawn fishermen 150 miles off the Kerry coast. The catch also included other fish with names like creatures from the depths of the Black Lagoon, including a Spiny Eel and a Viper Fish.
One of them, the Lamprey, has no jaws, scales or fins, yet it attacks weak fish and bores holes into them. "It works like a feed processor and even attacks big whales," a Department of the Marine official told the paper.
Fish matters also make the headlines in the Wicklow People, which reports a row between residents and fishermen over the smell coming from bait left at the pier in Wicklow town. Some residents claim they have had to close their windows and doors in the recent hot weather to keep the stench out.
The residents claim the fishermen are baiting their boats the night before putting out to sea and the smell is circulating overnight, according to the paper. Wicklow's harbourmaster, Mr William Garvay, is quoted as saying he has received no complaints from the residents. It's fowl, not fish, which make frontpage news in the Corkman. The paper reports that an important breed of duckling in Kanturk are being frightened by roaming dogs.
The ducklings were introduced by the local gun club two years age to enhance the area's beauty, says the paper. The club's chairman is now calling en local dogowners to keep their dogs en a leash in the area.
Hollywood is coming to Wexford this month with the start of filming en a multi million pound Steven Spielberg movie, Saving Private Ryan. Ballineskar beach has been turned into 1940s Normandy for the film starring Tom Hanks, according to the Wexford People, which says hundreds of local men will act as extras.
Mere than 100 Limerick hurling fans have been invited by the MidWestern Health Board to trade in their old jerseys for new ones at a knockdown price, according to the Limerick Leader. The new jerseys, which carry the beard's drug free message, normally retail at around £30, but are available under the old for new scheme for £10. The paper says demand for the new jerseys is exceeding supply.
On the first anniversary of the killing of Det Garda Jerry McCabe during an armed raid in Adare, Co Limerick, the investigating Garda team has renewed its appeal to the public for help. In an editorial, the Limerick Leader pays tribute to the "courage and dignity" of Mr McCabe's widow, Ann, and calls for a public memorial to him.
The Connacht Tribune reports in a lead story that patients in the west have to wait 2 1/2 times longer for surgery than their counterparts in the east.
The claim by the chief executive officer of the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation follows the government's decision not to locate a cardiac surgical unit at University College Hospital, Galway. Mr Neil Johnson said the decision to locate the new unit at St James's Hospital, Dublin, was disappointing as levels of cardiac disease in the west are higher than elsewhere in the country.
The paper also reports that some 25,000 households in Co Mayo and north Co Galway have had their broadcasts of British television restored after deflector system operators were advised that they are not operating outside the law. One month after the pictures were removed from their screens, BBC, UTV and Channel 4 transmissions have been switched back on by the operators, who have now applied under the new official licensing system.
The Donegal Democrat reports that a private investigator has been employed by a local businessman to investigate the murder of a Raphoe cattle dealer, Mr Richard Barrens, last October. The businessman has offered through the investigator a £10,000 cash reward for information which would lead to the conviction of Mr Barren's killer. The body of the father of five was found with severe head injuries.
The paper reports that gardai investigating the case have distanced themselves from the private initiative.
In their last editions before polling day, many of the regional papers carry extensive profiles and predictions, as well as editorials urging readers to exercise their democratic right to vote. These whom the people have just elected are paid toe much, according to a large majority of transition year and Leaving Certificate students polled in the Nenagh Guardian.
However, 70 per cent of the 200 students surveyed could net name North Tipperary's three outgoing TDs whom they considered overpaid. The paper reports survey "gems" including the nomination by several students of the highly paid Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson, for the position of Taoiseach. One student, asked to name the three Rainbow Coalition parties, answered: Fine Gael, Labour and "Demolition Left".