Civic and trade leaders in a Co Monaghan Border town hope to attract several thousand visitors today for a major parade and festival to highlight the town's commercial and tourism potential.
Hotelier Patrick McFadden, who is president of Castleblayney Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday the event would mark the launch of a summer campaign to attract people to the half-way "cross-Border shop-stop" between Dublin and Derry.
Twelve marching bands from both sides of the Border will be participating in today's parade, in which there will also be a huge array of floats to highlight the town's industrial, cultural, and sporting life.
Local Independent town councillor Joe Brennan said: "We expect this will be one of the biggest and most colourful presentations in the region and it will set the scene for the attraction of a huge number of visitors from all parts of the country to the area this summer."
The Border town Maytime festival includes open-air dancing at a huge marquee beside the 17-century Hope Castle, on the shores of scenic Lough Muckno, dubbed "the Killarney of the North" .
Town councillors claim a new €115-million 16km (10-mile) bypass at Castleblayney will open up the Border town for a major influx of business.
Town mayor Gary Carville said yesterday that a chronic traffic bottleneck which would end with the opening of the bypass, was expected to "transform trade" for the town's business sector, as people would be able to drive into the town more easily.