Within days of a serious attack on two elderly brothers in Castlejordan, Co Meath, which resulted in the death of one of them, another local pensioner was subjected to a terrifying ordeal at the hands of intruders who robbed him of approximately £450, The Meath Chronicle reported.
The 71-year-old Trim man was tied up and robbed by two people who entered his home on Saturday night, June 10th. He escaped injury but was shaken by the incident. Gardai are investigating.
The newspaper claimed the latest attack could be linked to another in Enfield on the June bank holiday weekend, just hours before the attack on the Logan brothers in Castlejordan, which resulted in the death of Mr Paddy Logan (81). In that incident, an 80-year-old man living alone had his home ransacked by four masked men who escaped with money and other property, including a shotgun.
The Longford Leader said the family of John Carthy, shot dead by Gardai during a siege at his home in Abbeylara last April, are angry and upset that details of the Garda inquiry into his death were leaked to a Sunday newspaper.
The mother and sister of Mr Carthy said, in a statement released through their solicitor, that they were particularly hurt by the allegations that John had fallen out with them. "This sort of leak completely undermines the present inquiry and underlines our request for an independent inquiry," they said.
The leader writer in the newspaper said the case had become a political football. "There is ample evidence that the good name of John Carthy and his family is being abused with complete abandon by different agencies of the State in a desperate attempt to win their own petty battles with each other."
The writer added that the leaking of details of the Garda inquiry was a "blatant attempt to whitewash the way" for the upcoming report on the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Mr Carthy.
The Connacht Tribune reported that detectives probing the brutal murder of Galway taxi-driver Eileen Costello-O'Shaughnessy in 1997 are hoping for a breakthrough in the case after reopening a line of inquiry in their investigation. The 47-year-old mother was last seen alive when she picked up a fare in Galway city and headed north on the N17.
Garda sources confirmed they were focusing their attention on a man who had been previously questioned in relation to the murder, but whose alibi did not stand up.
A story in the Wicklow People tells how a Rathnew student had passed her Leaving Certificate before ever going into an exam hall. Sharon Crean is a student of the Leaving Certificate Applied programme and, through her hard work on assignments over the past two years, has earned enough credits to pass the exam. Her challenge now is to achieve merit or distinction status which will enable her to apply for a position in the i.Garda Siochana.
The Derry People & Donegal News reported that a primary school six miles from Letterkenny has no proper water supply and in times of drought its teachers have to supply drinking water in bottles to the 32 children attending.
Glenmaquin National School's water is piped from a nearby well but when the weather is dry, so is the well. The school principal, Violet Thorburn, said the situation was "crazy in the year 2000". Local councillors have been invited to a meeting in the school organised by the board of management on Wednesday to discuss the problem.
Late-night assaults, disorderly conduct and extreme drunkenness are threatening to tarnish Kilkenny city's good name, according to the Kilkenny People. Many of the incidents occur around take-aways after discos and pubs close, and Garda Supt Kevin Donohoe has suggested the introduction of by-laws to make sure all fast-food outlets close at the same time.
A new record was set in Liscannor, Co Clare, when a half-acre site with sea views and outline planning permission sold at auction for £135,000, the Clare Champion said. The site was bought in trust for a person in the US with Limerick connections.
Locals in the auction room were stunned by the proceedings, but none more so than the vendor Donal Considine, a young farmer, who felt lucky not to have accepted a £40,000 offer for the site a few months ago.
The Nationalist reported that Fianna Fail had been accused of trying to bribe the people of South Tipperary in the run-up to next Thursday's by-election after announcing a £15 million development at St Joseph's Hospital, Clonmel. Labour candidate Ellen Ferris said people would not be fooled and warned that attempts to bribe voters with their own money would not assist Fianna Fail's campaign. The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, denied the announcement was made to coincide with the by-election.