A 78-year-old woman's prayers at St Michael's Church in Enniskillen were viciously halted by a mugger who caught her by the neck and flung her to the ground, said the Impartial Reporter. Almost as shocking as the fact that a woman could be mugged while praying in a place of safety was the fact that the mugger was a pony-tailed young woman in her early 20s. Ms Peggy Daly, from Enniskillen, had been in the church for about two hours doing the Stations of the Cross when she was attacked from behind. "She did it so quick, just flung me, I hadn't a chance to save myself," said Ms Daly.
Limerick gardai have launched "Operation Lifesaver" to ensure the city streets are safe to walk this Christmas, the Limerick Chronicle said. Chief Supt Michael Fitzgerald said there would be extra patrols on the streets to prevent a repeat of an incident in which a young man died on Saturday, November 28th.
The Kilkenny People told of a city shopkeeper's terror when he was held at knifepoint by two "drug-crazed thugs".
"At one stage I thought the lights were going to go out," Mr Eugene Dunne (43), the father of three young children, said. "I thought they might just take a swipe at me even though they got what they wanted." Mr Dunne was unable to get a good description of the young men. "They are a dime a dozen on the street, those type of thugs. They all look alike," he commented.
A "genius" who "lies around like a big, fat cat" was castigated by Judge John Neilan at Kilbeggan District Court last week, reported the Tullamore Tribune.
"This genius thinks this society owes him a big debt. This society doesn't owe him anything at all. The next thing he'll want will be a great big limousine to ferry him to collect his social welfare," said the judge.
He was commenting on a 19-year-old youth who had pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including an assault on a garda.
The Kildare Nationalist summed up the uproar at a recent Athy UDC meeting with the phrase, "when the gobshite hit the fan". The council meeting degenerated into a slagging match as councillors traded insults across the table, attempts to restore order failed and the meeting had to be abandoned.
"[The] row broke out during a discussion on correspondence and really flared when Cllr Paddy Wright refused to apologise for calling one of his fellow councillors a `gobshite'," said the Nationalist.
The same newspaper also reported that the ESB had "pulled the plug" on £40,000 worth of Christmas lights purchased by Newbridge Chamber of Commerce due to problems with the Newbridge supply network. The "hugely disappointed" chamber has threatened to take legal action and to report the issue to the Monopolies Commission. After a major fund-raising drive to buy new Christmas lighting, Newbridge will now have to put up with the same old strings of lights used in previous years.
With the huge interest of children and young people in whales, it seems bizarre that the fin whale of Ballyheigue has hit stormy waters. "The famous environmentalist slogan `Save the Whale' took on a whole new meaning in Ballyheigue this week when it emerged that the resort's maritime centre, which houses the skeleton of a 65-footfin whale, may be forced to close down," said the Kerryman.
The centre was opened in 1995 to exhibit the skeleton of a female fin whale which washed up on Ballyheigue beach in November 1994, but a hoped-for National Lottery grant did not materialise and there were planning hitches and unforeseen problems with the erection of signs on approach roads to Ballyheighue. Two summers of wet weather have discouraged visitors. "Visitors have no reason to come to Ballyheighue unless the sun is shining, because we're off the beaten track," said Mr Teddy Healy, who helped set up the maritime centre.
"D'Unbelievables" could face a serious challenge from local politicians, wrote Victor Norris, of Knocknagoshel, in the Kerryman. "I had the best laugh in years while listening to Radio Kerry in that farcical row between Cllr Cronin and Michael Healy-Rae arguing over Jackie Healy-Rae using his chain of office in a poster promoting Michael's foodstore. It was stage Irish at its best."