In this week's Westmeath Independent
This week's edition of the Westmeath Independent is now on the shelves and features 40 pages of the best local news and sport, plus a special 16-page supplement looking ahead to the big game on Sunday, when St Brigid's of Kiltoom take on Dublin side Ballymun Kickhams in the All Ireland senior club football final. Will St Patrick's Day be St Brigid's Day? See our extensive preview coverage, photos, interviews and analysis.
Stories featured this week include:
* A grieving Athlone family has accused Longford/Westmeath TD James Bannon of 'hearse chasing' after he sent them a mass card in a Dáil envelope despite not knowing the deceased.
* The protesters who seriously disrupted last week's Athlone Town Council council meeting should be barred from attending future meetings of the local authority, according to Town Clerk Hugh O'Reilly.
* You're better off living west of the Shannon according to the Revenue's valuations guide for the new property tax, as there is not a single electoral division in Roscommon where the average properrty is valued at over €150,000.
* Four sheep painted in the red and green of St Brigid's have escaped from a field in Brideswell. Reporter Deirdre Verney examines the case of the missing four-legged GAA supporters, as speculation grows that they've set off early for Croke Park ahead of the All Ireland final!
* European champion Joe Ward is to box in his native Moate next month at a charity event to raise money for Crumlin children's hospital.
* In our 'Independent People' series, reporter Adrian Cusack interviews Kiltoom resident Ethel Gavin who is the Governor of Loughan House prison in Cavan.
* In sport, Roddy Collins' reign as Athlone Town manager got off to an uninspiring start; Westmeath maintained their positive league form with a win over Laois; we have the latest team news from the St Brigid's camp; and there are reports and photos from key soccer, gaelic football and rugby fixtures involving Athlone Community College, St Aloysius, and the Marist College.
All this and much more in this week's paper, which available in local outlets and can also be accessed in the ePaper format (for more on this option, see: http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/epaper#undefined)