THE Kerryman gave us a taste of how the moral secret police of the 1950s went about their work when it reported the ease of a 16 year old Kerry girl who was forced by nuns to endure a virginity test during the 1950s.

Ms Mary Norris, who was raised in a Killarney orphanage in the late 1940s and early 1950s said that at the age of 16 she was sent to work for a retired school mistress. She was allowed to go to the pictures once a week, but he broke the rule, went twice in one week and was reported to the nuns.

She was brought back from Tralee to the orphanage, where she was kept for two days before being taken to a doctor who forcibly examined her internally, then told a lay person from the orphanage: "This girl is intact".

Ms Norris said that her father died when she was a child, leaving her mother to raise five sisters and two brothers. When her mother entered a relationship with another man - whom she later married - she and her siblings were taken into care.

"I believe we were taken away to save our souls on the instigation of the parish priest," she said.

Ms Norris told the Kerryman that she would never forgive the people who caused her to be separated from her family.

Her mental scars caused by the cruelty of the nuns would not heal, "counselling or no counselling" she added. Her memories included being beaten with a belt while naked after taking a bath, she was also publicly humiliated for wetting her bed and forced to carry her mattress down three flights to an outside laundry while the rest of the school chanted at her.

Everyone wants a mobile phone but there has been heated controversy over the erection all over rural Ireland of Telecom masts, which some regard as eyesores. Esat is taking a different approach and is applying for planning permission to place its equipment in architectural landmarks, including a church tower.

The Meath Chronicle reported that one of the highest points in Navan, St Mary's Catholic Church, has been chosen by Esat Digifone for a proposed antenna as part of its cellular digital mobile telecommunications network.

A similar proposal has been made for the Tower of Loyd. The equipment would be placed underneath the balcony and painted the same colour as the brick.

The Monster Express reported that the Arts Council has once again rejected a funding application from the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera.

"Despite an increase of 13 per cent in its funding, the Arts Council can find no money from its £16 million plus budget to assist one of the country's longest established music festivals," stated the newspaper.

The Mayo News, Western People and Connaught Telegraph all reported that the £25 million Phase 2 of the Mayo General Hospital has been given the go ahead by the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan.

The Connacht Tribune, meanwhile, once again headlined the problems at University College Galway, where over the last seven months 300 patients have been forced to spend between six and 30 hours on trolleys.

Mr Desmond Turner, an artist and organiser of the Achill Summer School of painting for the past 30 years, is threatening to leave the island if the planning permission is granted for a house and septic tank on commonage beside his holiday home, Curlew Cottage. The threat made the front page of the Mayo News, which clearly does not underestimate "the major role" Turner has played in promoting Achill as a cultural destination for visitors.

"Dixie the cow makes it five in a row!" said the front page of the Connaught Telegraph, which incidentally has a new editor, Mr Tom Gillespie, whose great great grand father, R.A. Gillespie, helped to found the paper in 1828. Dixie, known locally as "the wonder cow", delivered her fifth set of twins on February 20th.

In Newbridge, co Kildare, recently, a gang of "at least 20 drunken yobs" - male and female - were involved in a "near riot situation", described by one garda as "like something out of El Paso". He told the Kildare Nationalist: "We were completely outnumbered. All we could do was try to prevent them from killing each other".

The Government has been at it again - "giving with one hand and taking back with the other", said the Kilkenny People. The county board was delighted to receive a £200,000 National Lottery grant for the redevelopment of the local GAA headquarters. But the overall VAT bill to be met for the development came to a staggering £107,187.50.