Commenting on the vagaries of the Celtic Tiger as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer has become a well-worn theme for the State's leader writers, and last week was no exception. The Leinster Leader stated that "those who are reaping the benefits of unprecedented economic good fortune are removing themselves faster than ever before from those who do not have similar good fortune. . . The price of a Friday evening's knees-up in your local Mobile Phone Bar is often more than some families have to provide food for a week."
It was now urgent that we address the tolerance of our greater administrative systems to deprivation and suffering. An example was the case of the 16-year-old girl who was roaming the streets of Dublin homeless within days of her father being convicted in "one of the most horrific cases of torture, rape and mutilation" ever to come before an Irish court.
The Nationalist and Leinster Times asserted that "for many people in our society the idea that we are doing well is a complete joke.
"According to a recent report, commissioned by the Combat Poverty Agency and compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute, there are 170,000 children living in what they call `consistent poverty'. . . the poorest of the poor."
A "vicious" attack on a 14-year-old girl in Longford town by two men was described by the Longford Leader, which included a photofit of the suspect.
At 10.30 pm on July 6th, the girl was grabbed at a laneway and dragged to waste ground, where her attacker forced her to drink a liquid from a bottle. The man proceeded to sexually assault the girl while another man stood nearby.
An annual outbreak of "Drumcree disease" was diagnosed by the Sligo Champion. "Against a background of fear and loathing, in the dysfunctional society that is Northern Ireland, absurd contradictions abound which in any normal community would be the subject of ridicule and which in the Republic, cause continuing bafflement. That otherwise intelligent people should behave so stupidly at this late stage in the Drumcree saga - not least against their best interests - is a subject of bemused wonder here and throughout the world."
Ten cannabis and ecstasy seizures in Castlebar and a warning from the local Garda Superintendent inspired the Connaught Tele- graph's headline:
"Drug pubs face closure!" "Publicans in the Castlebar area who appear to be condoning drug use on their premises risk losing their licenses", stated the newspaper.
The Kilkenny People's intriguing page three headline was "Relief as glass table smashes". Sean Keane wrote that "a decision which will affect the lives of almost all those who live or pass through Kilkenny was put back for two weeks following a meeting of Corporation on Monday night.
"Never before had such a crowd watched proceedings from the public gallery at City Hall.
"A glass table smashed. It gave as Dominic Street resident Michael McGrath and 83-year-old Harry Murray were sitting on it.
"It came as a welcome relief during what was at times a testy affair on how to solve traffic problems."
The intense controversy, during which hecklers were reprimanded by the Mayor, Mr Paul Cuddihy, concerned the proposed construction of an Inner Relief Road, to which the majority of the corporation are opposed.
Inner relief of a sort was also the subject of the Nationalist and Leinster Times's front page colour story by Suzanne Pender, who reported the astounding news that a "comforting, settling and uplifting", not to mention "humble" cup of tea now costs £8 at the Ashbourne House Hotel.
Seeking solace and "a bit of perspective on life" before a big football game, the Carlow Ladies' Football Team entered the hotel with tea on their minds. They were told that no matter what they ordered, the minimum charge would be £8. The ladies, if not the kettle, were "boiling", to say the least.
A new mechanical sweeper in Bagenalstown is doing a great job of sweeping the streets, but creates a cloud of dust up to 50 feet in the air and puts dirt into every house, according to a report by Charlie Keegan in the Nationalist. "It is taking the dirt off the roads and putting it on the houses", asserted Cllr Arthur McDonald at a meeting of Bagenalstown Town Commission. Cllr McDonald "admitted that he had followed the machine that very day and saw what happened for himself."
Looking back to the days when a Carlow County Council employee cleaned the streets using a hand-cart and two bins, Cllr McDonald said: "I have never seen Frank Monaghan drive a cloud of dust 50 feet into the sky."