Three women dominate this week's regional papers. There are eulogies to Mother Teresa and Diana, Princess of Wales, and tributes to the President, Mrs Robinson. Dana also gets a mention for her efforts to gain the support of county councils for her presidential campaign.

The Connacht Tribune and the Donegal Democrat report that the Derry-born singer is expected to address Galway and Donegal county councils this week. These are two of the many local authorities which Dana has asked for an audience with, according to the Donegal Democrat. She needs the support of four councils or 20 TDs to enter the presidential race.

The Western People reports on a call for a memorial garden in Co Mayo dedicated jointly to Princess Diana, who has links with Castlebar, Co Mayo through the Spencer family, and Mother Teresa, who has visited Knock. The suggestion came from Mayo person of the year, Mr Kevin Bourke.

A councillor in Kells, Co Meath, wants the town's most famous book to be brought home to provide a tourist boost for the local economy. The Meath Chronicle reports that Ms Frances Monaghan wants the Book of Kells, or a part of it, brought back from Trinity College, Dublin.

She said the return of the book, which was removed from Kells in the 1660s, would be a "goldmine" and a "second Newgrange".

Fears that Drogheda will soon be plagued by heroin are reported on the front page of the Drogheda Independent. A drug squad garda told Massgoers he was "amazed" that heroin was not in greater use in the town given its proximity to Dublin.

"When it comes it will bring with it needles, AIDS and death," Garda Brian Morrissey told parishioners in Lourdes Church. In an address which was part of the "Breaking the Silence" campaign by the Irish Bishops' Conference, he urged the community to unite to fight the drugs threat.

The paper's editorial says that as unprecedented national mourning continues in the UK for the "people's princess", the Republic must now concentrate on a search for a "people's president".

The writer criticises the current line-up as unimaginative and calls on political leaders to note that the demise of the people's princess led UK citizens to accuse their unelected leaders of being out of touch with the people.

"Elected leaders and parties can be just as out of touch," it says. "It behoves them to choose candidates whose bid centres on what they can do for their country and not what they have done for their party. To offer anything less would be to miss the point of the Robinson Presidency."

The editorial in The Corkman puts it more bluntly, saying the prospects of securing a President who would "come within an ass's roar of Mary Robinson - in terms of stature, ability, presence and cross-community appeal - diminish almost by the hour".

The paper also reports on calls for parts of Co Cork to be declared an emergency area for rural regeneration following the findings of a report which highlights the critical level of population decline. The study, commissioned by Cork County Council and not yet published, says the population in the Duhallow/Sliabh Luachra area is now the same as when emigration from the area was at its peak in the 1940s and 1950s.

A Fianna Fail councillor, Mr Jack Roche, told the paper he would send a copy of the published report to the Taoiseach and urge him to take immediate action.

A Waterford county councillor's claim that vigilante groups are being formed to deny rights to travellers caused a stir at a council meeting, according to the Waterford News & Star.

The Fine Gael councillor, Mr Gary O'Halloran, told the meeting he had made representations for traveller families seeking accommodation who were not getting "a fair deal" from the council. He called on unions responsible for the council's workforce to instruct their members not to implement a "racist South African policy" of putting up boulders to keep traveller families out of certain areas.

Following objections to his remarks by several councillors, the council's "visibly angry" chairman said councillors were "fed up" with having the traveller issue raised by Mr O'Halloran. "I have had enough of it and it's going to be cut out," he said. Mr O'Halloran pledged to continue to raise the issue until the problems facing travellers were resolved.