A "cheeky streaker" is baring all to beach-goers in the Co Meath towns of Mosney and Laytown. Gardai have received complaints about the nudist who they also suspect was behind streaking incidents in the same area last year, according to the Drogheda Independent.
"According to eye-witness reports, he has a distinctive mark on one of his cheeks `and I'm not talking about his face'," a Garda source told the newspaper. "Detecting the man on that basis would be difficult, gardai have acknowledged."
Officials in Kildare County Council have been making it difficult for the public and councillors to contact them, according to the Kildare Nation- alist. Some officials have been accused by councillors of "hiding behind" their telephone voice-mail systems instead of dealing with calls.
Cllr John O'Neill, who put down a motion calling for a discussion on the operation of the system in Naas, said messages left on the voice mail were not always answered. One councillor said a consolation about being put on hold was the background music. His favourite was The Fields of Athenry.
A novel match-making idea for unmarried Galway councillors is reported in the Tuam Herald. Recently-appointed Minister of State, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, proposed recently that a special sub-committee be set up to help "marry off" the remaining three single councillors.
He made the suggestion as the councillors extended their best wishes to Cllr Michael Mullins, who was married last week.
In Co Kerry, poisonous algae have turned the water in Lough Leane a luminous green and are causing a health risk to humans and animals. Kerry County Council has warned the public to avoid swimming in Lough Leane, according to the Kerryman.
The toxic blooms, which can be life-threatening, cause skin rashes and, if swallowed, vomiting and diarrhoea. Local fishermen said irregular testing of the lough's water by the council had led to its deterioration.
In Golden, Co Tipperary, a proposal to build a piggery has provoked objections from locals, according to the Tipperary Star. The paper reports that the local environmental protection association is worried that the "continuous stench" would drive away foreign investors and tourists.
A campaign to get reduced air fares for cancer patients from west Donegal who have to travel to Dublin for treatment has been launched by a Burtonport woman, according to the Donegal Democrat.
Ms Mary McGinley, who set up a cancer-support group last March, has called for Government help in providing return flights for £20. She told the newspaper that some cancer patients could not face the five-hour road journey back to Donegal after chemotherapy sessions.
The newspaper also reports that a minerals exploration company has found deposits of sapphires, diamonds and other gemstones in the Inishowen area. Cambridge Mineral Resources plans to carry out tests to establish the size of the deposits and the feasibility of mining.
The newspaper said the company began to explore the area after its chief geologist pointed out that Donegal was situated on a "geological strip" running from the Baltic, through the western isles of Scotland to Montana, US, where diamond deposits have been found.
The Sligo Champion published photographs of weapons seized by gardai before a recent travellers' funeral in Ballymote, which one source said would have been a "bloodbath". Hatchets, slash-hooks, pitchforks, shovels and knives were seized from some 600 travellers from Ireland and England.
Gardai told the newspaper they had averted a sequel to a long-running feud which broke out in London earlier in the year when people were seriously injured in incidents in which firearms were used.