Sitting outside a café in the evening sun, sipping a drink and listening to the water lap against the harbour: this may be a typical Mediterranean scene, but it could be a typical Longford scene if a development group succeeds in its plans.
The Longford Action Group has plans to open up the local Camlin River to cruisers on the Shannon. Tourists would then be able to leave the Shannon at Lough Forbes and take a seven-kilometre journey on the Camlin River into a new harbour at the railway line in Longford town.
Mr Hugh Connolly, the group's secretary, believes the plan could rejuvenate Longford and act as a flagship project for the midlands.
Some 10,000 cruise journeys pass the mouth of the Camlin River every year, he says, so if a fraction of those travelled to Longford, it would transform the town.
"A little bustling harbour would be a very nice place to own some property or indeed rent some property. We could have bars, restaurants, shops, all in one of the most underdeveloped area of the town."
The group has estimated the project cost at €10 million, but says it would pay for itself several times over. Apart from the tourism benefits, the harbour would act as a reservoir to eliminate the yearly flooding on the west side of the town.
Although the idea might seem modern, it was first mooted in the 1840s, Mr Connolly says.
Through its business wing, the group is applying for funding from the EU Leader Plus project to carry out a feasibility study.
Mr Connolly believes the project should be mainly funded by central government. If the feasibility study finds no major obstacles and funding is secured, work could begin in September 2003.
"It would make Longford a very attractive place to come to," Mr Connolly says. "All we would need then is a bit of sun."