"Christianity is alive and well in Borrisoleigh," declared the Tipperary Star, commenting on the parish's response to the proposal to locate 25 asylum-seekers there. Borrisoleigh was so welcoming that an official with the Central Directorate for Refugees and Asylum Seekers Service pronounced herself "stunned".
The official, Ms Colette Morey, described the "absolutely tremendous" response in the village as "the best the directorate has received in any centre in which it proposed housing refugees".
In other centres throughout the State there have been blockades on premises proposed for housing and considerable anger has been vented against the directorate, but the mood in Borrisoleigh was "anything but confrontational", the newspaper stated.
"Ireland's response to the refugee crisis has not been what one would expect of a nation which over the years saw so many of its people forced, through economic circumstances, to seek a new life elsewhere. We rightly take pride in the marvellous contribution so many of them made to the land of their adoption but we sometimes forget, or choose to ignore, the fact that many others did not to so well and were frequently on the wrong side of the authorities," the Tipperary Star commented.
Elsewhere, the property boom was the hot story. The Wicklow People headlined: "£650,000 houses blow roof off local market". The 14 detached houses with detached garages and 0.8 acres of land each are the most expensive houses yet built in the Wicklow area.
The Western People reported a "housing surge" in Mayo with 1,797 houses built compared to 1,001 in 1995.
The Fingal Independent said Co Meath's population will increase by a quarter by 2002, while house completions in the county will double within six years. The Drogheda Independent described as "huge" a £250 million development, "the largest of its kind ever outside Dublin".
The project, which has been approved by Meath County Council, involves the construction of 750 houses, 150 apartments, an office park, shopping, a leisure centre and a 40-bed nursing home.
An entire satellite town could grow out of a racecourse in Dundalk, predicted the Argus. The development of Dundalk's prime building site will include housing, apartments, a hotel, leisure centre and conference centre alongside a state-of-the art horse and greyhound racing stadium with bars and restaurants.
The Leitrim Observer reported on the planning stages of a "massive multi-million pound development" proposed for the Boyle Road in Carrick-on-Shannon. "Carrick View" will consist of 58 houses, 90 apartments, a private marina, a medical centre, a travel lodge (including a drive-through restaurant), a petrol filling station, and a four-screen cinema. The village of Ballinlough, Co Roscommon, for example, has been transformed by the development of a "palatial" hotel which cost £3 million to build and has boosted confidence for investment in the town, the Roscommon Herald stated.
Property development has its dark side, but the Wexford People concluded that the county was "free from corruption", while the Wicklow People reported disclosures from all local councillors stating that they had never accepted donations from lobbyists.
The Kilkenny People supported the Labour Party's private member's Bill, which seeks to ban both private and corporate donations to politicians. "If we value an honest, vibrant democracy then we must be prepared to pay for it" and "put the bribery merchants out of business", it believed.
In the midst of rampant commercial progress, there was a striking lack of public development in some areas. The Leinster Leader reported that 140 families have applied for a mere 14 new council houses. "Spiralling house prices are continuing to push younger buyers out of the private property market and on to the council's list. And greedy landlords are evicting social welfare tenants, forcing them into hostels," it said.
"Despite an increase of over £4 million (almost 50 per cent) in the capital allocation for local authority housing in Kildare this year, the financial boost will barely make a dent in the list."
And in Belmullet Judge Mary Devins is refusing to sit in the courthouse because of the poor condition of the building.
The Courts Service "immediately accepted that accommodation in Belmullet is very poor and does not comply with health and safety standards or provide reasonable facilities for court users, members of the judiciary or staff", the Connaught Telegraph commented.
In Drogheda a furious mayor, Mr Sean Collins, "lashed the anti-bin-charge lobby which last week protested outside a senior citizens' party organised by him", the Drogheda Independent reported. "I was absolutely disgusted," he stated. The lobby group handed out leaflets that told the senior citizens that the mayor "wants to take your Christmas pension bonus (£70) to pay for your bin collection".
The Wicklow People had a classic courts headline, which needs no explanation: "Woman bit publican after boyfriend left with other woman".