SENATOR Donie Cassidy told the Westmeath Examiner that "funding is not a problem" when it comes to setting up a new Sunday newspaper. He and his son, Peter, are forming a new company, the Press on Sunday, and if successful in having it registered as a trade name the project will go ahead immediately.
The man who has managed Foster and Allen since 1978 plans to put together a consortium to produce "an exciting and positive new Sunday newspaper which will reflect the views of the vast majority of people in Ireland". He believes that "the whole spirit of the Irish people and their successes are not being reflected by the national media".
"There is plenty of support for it from the ground from those who are creating employment - the unsung heroes of Ireland. That is what the people of Ireland should be reading about and it is what they want to read about."
The death of 18 year old Justin Clark from a lethal dose of morphine tablets prompted the Connaught Telegraph's headline: "Rural drug taking a reality, coroner warns. The three other teenagers who took the morphine with Justin Clark were lucky not to be dead as well and were probably saved by the fact that they became violently ill and vomited, said the newspaper.
Accusations of "apparent ethnic cleansing" of elderly mentally ill patients were reported by the Leinster Express. It was airing the views of nurses at St Finian's Hospital, who described the Midland Health Board's proposal to relocate 52 psychogeriatric patients as a "nonsensical and bureaucratic exercise". Their joint union committee - representing the Psychiatric Nurses Association and SIPTU - is calling on Laois politicians to opposed the health board plan.
"Hint, hint," said the Sligo Champion, reporting that Sligo Corporation is convinced of an early general election following a request by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, that it change the official opening of Rockwood Parade from May 28th to some time earlier so that hue can attend.
THE newspaper's headline, "Rumours of split persist as Bruton rallies the troops", referred to the Taoiseach's attempts to ease tensions among "tight lipped" local Fine Gael party members. Their anger "is only thinly disguised" following the Fine Gael national executive's decision not to add local councillor, Tony McLoughlin, to the election team and to nominate a Ballymote businessman, John Perry, as the party's third candidate.
"The majority of Fine Gael people in Sligo town are devastated. Fony McLoughlin represented the party's best chance of winning a Fine Gael seat in Sligo," said a source.
The Munster Express, reported on the "huge success of the "Clean up the Comeraghs" campaign on Easter Monday, when several hundred volunteers collected close to 100 tons of garbage. The haul included cookers, refrigerators, car parts, bicycles, glass bottles, cans, broken toys and an endless amount of elastic bags.
But that wasn't the worst. "The sight of rotting animals, diapers and sanitary towels would instantly make any sensible and intelligent person a stout environmentalist. The disposal of two lots of outdated medicines in fields near Mahon Bridge could indeed have had serious consequences ... " said the Munster Express.
A bank official being embraced by a giant pink cuddly bunny was pictured on the front page of the Nationalist and Leinster Times. Alan Whelan arrived for work at the Bank of Ireland, Potato Market, Carlow, on Holy Thursday in time for a 10.15 a.m. appointment with E. Bunny.
Suspecting nothing, Mr Whelan was stunned to discover that E. Bunny was actually his wife, Pauline, dressed up in an Easter Bunny costume. She whisked him away to London for a romantic weekend.
The Mayo News reported that a former Mayo Person of the Year has suggested that the county's enterprise fund for economic and social development be used in part to provide brides for the county's bachelor farmers. Muredach McAndrew, who won the Mayo title in 1968, said that young girls were being educated out of the county at third level and then getting jobs away from home.
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