Today Mayo County Council's artist in residence, Chris Doris, will descend Croagh Patrick after spending 40 days and 40 nights on the summit, where he has been acting as a "social sculpture", the Connaught Telegraph reported.
The Lacken-based artist has gathered material on 1,500 of the estimated 6,000 who have climbed the reek since he began living on the summit on July 28th.
His art involves his interactions with the people he met on the mountain and he is planning to write a book about his experiences. A handful of Longford builders are among the 12 who control 7,000 acres of undeveloped land already zoned for housing in the Dublin area.
And it is these 12 who would have most to lose if the Government were to succeed in its plans to introduce a social housing clause under the new Planning Bill, said the Longford Leader, citing "industry sources".
The Longford builders named by the paper are household names for anybody interested in the property scene. They include Mr Joe O'Reilly and Mr Liam Maye of Castlethorn Construction, Mr Michael Whelan of Maplewood Homes and Mr Jimmy Flynn of Flynn and O'Flaherty, who recently paid £35 million for the Phoenix Park racecourse.
"Now the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, says he is prepared to showdown the developers who he claims are `hoarding up' land in the greater Dublin area, and one of the main reasons for the social housing clause . . . is to push these builders into developing their zoned land rather than limiting development and keeping house prices up," it said.
The Bishop of Kerry, Dr Bill Murphy, is appealing to parishioners to pay priests' pensions. The appeal comes as a result of the "greying" of the clergy, which has led to unprecedented demands of £140,000 annually from the diocesan for sick and retired priests who are running out of money, said the Kerryman. Some priests with their own resources can afford to pay for private pensions, but most priests - who earn £8,000 per year on average - cannot afford this, said Dr Murphy.
"Off the roadside!" shouted the Connaught Telegraph to its readers among the Travelling community. A controversial £10 million plan is being put in place to house the entire Mayo Travelling community within the next five years. The proposal, which could lead to widespread objections across the county, predicted the newspaper, will involve the provision of up to 200 new housing units for Travellers by 2005.
Clonmel and Tipperary towns are battling for one of the major prizes to be announced by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, in his winter budget - the de-centralisation of a Government department. The two towns are salivating at the prospect of highly paid civil servants coming to live and spend their money. The Nationalist and Munster Advertiser likened the benefit to an industry employing 150 people locating in the town.
A lone dealer was the target for a major drugs shipment to Sligo town, said the Sligo Champion. The find was intercepted by gardai in the biggest-ever drugs seizure in the west and north-west. The drugs, worth £500,000, included cannabis resin and ecstasy tablets.
The Connacht Tribune had a report of another intercepted package, containing six imitation handguns which had been posted from England, possibly for use in robberies. The guns were blankfiring stage props which are not regarded as real firearms because their barrels are blocked.
"We told each other we were too young to die" - those were the dramatic words of sisters Sarah (12) and Maeve McGuinness (10) as they clung for two hours to a capsized boat at Dunany Point. Four of their cousins died in the accident, said the Drogheda Independent.
Crucially, Sarah and Maeve took weekly swimming lessons and were able to stay afloat. An Ennis "think tank" has concluded that the town needs security cameras to prevent public order offences in the area at weekends, said the Clare Champion. Gardai have blamed young people who abuse alcohol for growing public disorder.
Vandals high on drink and drugs went on a rampage in Macroom, Co Cork, just three nights after a local woman, Ms Geraldine O'Grady, was crowned Rose of Tralee. Geraldine had not even had her victory parade through the town before windows in a college and fire station were smashed by youths. "It was a very wilful act of violence by a group of very depraved young people," said Mr Brendan O'Brien, principal of McEgan College.