Review of the year: Drogheda gets on the Hogwarts Express

DROGHEDA got a little taste of Hollywood at the beginning of February when Termonfeckin girl Evanna Lynch landed the coveted role of Luna Lovegood in the next Harry Potter movie.

The 14-year-old Greenhills pupil, with no prior professional acting experience, clinched the part after going along by chance to the open auditions which were held in June.

In a worldwide exclusive interview with the Drogheda Independent Evanna, a daughter of Donal and Marguerite Lynch, told how she turned to the Harry Potter books to escape from the stresses of everyday life.

When news broke that she got the part the town and her school, Our Lady’s College, was besieged with hordes of reporters and photographers from the national and international press.

Evanna herself even had to have body guards until the fuss died down.

Elsewhere a young family from Highlands were facing a bill for over e6,000 for damages and emergency response charges after a driver smashed his car into their house. Meanwhile it was reported that a seven-year-old chold was part of the teenage arson gang that caused over e100,000 in damage to a factory and a car dealers in Drogheda.

The Designer Discount Store TK Maxx announced that they were planning to expand to Drogheda.

Meanwhile a nightmare visit to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital got even worse for a local couple when they were told they now have to fork out e1,000 to the fire services after their car was destroyed by an arsonist in a hospital car park.

The latest bill came on top of a e50 bill sent by the hospital to the owner after she collapsed when she saw the family car go up in smoke.

The mother of four, Anita Fox from Laytown, was visiting her sick husband in hospital when the arsonist struck.

House prices in Co Louth rose by 14% in the last year with the average hose in the wee county costing e258,892 while house prices in Meath rose by 10% in comparison, with the average price of a dwelling being e296,508.

The family of a Drogheda woman who spent five days on a trolley in the A&E department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital slammed the health service a disgrace while the Drogheda Independent exposed a scam to get money from pubs and businesses in Drogheda on the basis of supporting junior soccer teams.

And plucky parishioners helped gardaí to nab two thieves who had robbed a wallet at Sunday mass in Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

The shocked church goers responded with remarkable speed and courage on realising that two men, who were fleeing from the Lourdes, had just stolen the wallet of choir conductor Jackie Walshe.

Their brave actions resulted in the recovery of the wallet which contained e200.