Dirty tricks, poor team spirit, undelivered invitations and unexpected windfalls were among the local stories spicing up a local elections campaign which has, in the words of the Meath Chronicle, been "muted to say the least".
The Leitrim Observer said that "two ministerial visits to Co Leitrim reaped rich dividends for the county with funding totalling £3.46 million announced for five projects". Among these was a £1 million grant to Our Lady's Hospital announced by the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen. There were ruffled feathers in Drogheda after Mr Cowen opened a new 50-bed extension to St Mary's Hospital without the presence of local politicians from rival parties who had been instrumental in campaigning for the extension.
The mayor, Ms Maria O'Brien, and Labour TD Mr Michael Bell did not receive invitations. Ms O'Brien said that as first citizen she was "disillusioned" and Mr Bell said he was angry that pioneering work, put in by himself and other politicians, had gone unrecognised at the opening.
"As far as I can see, Minister Cowen could be described as an occasional political tourist to Drogheda," said Mr Bell.
The North Eastern Health Board said it had mailed invitations, but that "for some unknown reason, the invitations were not delivered to some of these addressees before Monday's visit". More skulduggery in Co Limerick, where gardai and Limerick County Council are investigating a dispute in the Fianna Fail local election campaign in the Castleconnell area, after one candidate's posters were taken down, the Limerick Leader stated. "Candidate Noreen Ryan called the gardai after an apparent dirty tricks campaign which resulted in the removal of her posters by a county council worker using a council vehicle last week," it said. The council worker was caught in the act and discovered to have actually canvassed with another candidate, Ms Ryan claimed.
Fianna Fail council candidates in Kildare have threatened to resign from the party in "a bitter row that has damaged team spirit", stated the Kildare Nationalist. "The party in mid-Kildare has been in turmoil in the build-up to the June 11th local elections over the independent stand taken by one candidate.
"The row centres on the campaign being run by Fiona O'Loughlin who is seeking a seat on Kildare county council. Her running mates . . . have written to the party threatening to resign from the Fianna Fail ticket because the team agreement is not being adhered to. Individual posters erected by Ms O'Loughlin and personal advertising campaigns have angered her fellow party candidates."
The Anglo-Celt reported that a sectarian attack on the farm of independent candidate Freddie Kettyle, who is contesting the Cavan county council election, has been condemned by his rivals in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. "Mr A.J. O'Brien said that some people still behaved as if they were in the Palaeolithic Age" which, in case readers didn't know, the newspaper added was "2,500,000 years ago". Slogans to the effect of "IRA Rule" and "Tiocfaidh Ar La" were daubed on walls on buildings in Mr Kettyle's farm, along with other damage.
The Longford Leader provided a snapshot of Irish concerns in its editorial, "Ten questions to ask your local candidates". They included: "What is your attitude to the housing of travellers in housing estates in County Longford"; "what do you propose to do about ever-declining standards of health care?"; "how do you proposes to deal with roadside dumping?" "Do you agree with the amount of money which Longford County Council and Longford urban council spend each year sending council members off on junkets?" Other questions covered issues of jobs, traffic, third-level education and drugs.
"Not expecting them to keep promises and not wanting them to keep promises are two very different things. The expectation that promises will be broken is based on past experience rather than desired behaviour," the Drogheda Independent said. In what the Corkman said was a "final plea to the Catholic Church", Cork county councillor Conor O'Callaghan called for an end to both the celibacy vow and to the ban on women priests. "The decline in the number of priests could have a seriously damaging effect on the life of rural communities where they help the sick, the elderly and the less well off." This wasn't an election platform, unfortunately. The councillor is bowing out.