Dundalk delighted to be in the spotlight for the right reasons

Dundalk, a town synonymous with the Border and the Troubles, will welcome Mr Clinton with open arms tomorrow.

Dundalk, a town synonymous with the Border and the Troubles, will welcome Mr Clinton with open arms tomorrow.

"This is something good about Dundalk the media will have to write about," said one resident.

Young and old will fill every inch of the streets which meet at the Market Square to hear the speech of William Jefferson Clinton.

The "Square", as it is known, is overlooked by the courthouse and marks the heart of the town. It was built with over 50 per cent funding from the US, including the International Fund for Ireland.

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There is no doubt that the money from US agencies which flowed into the town during the dark days of the 1980s was vital in building infrastructure and helped prepare the path for a £180 million investment by Xerox announced two years ago.

When complete, the Xerox Technology Village will employ some 2,000 people. In true peace process and cross-Border fashion, a lot of the employees already there - some 800 - are from Louth, Monaghan, Armagh and Down.

Well-placed sources suggest that Xerox's choice of Dundalk went a long way to ensuring the town was also chosen by Mr Clinton.

The decision to choose the Market Square for his address is also significant as it was the focal point for some 14,000 people who gathered there a week after the Omagh bombing to show their opposition to violence.

"I am delighted Dundalk has been chosen. It is significant given its Border location and the fact that it has been to the forefront in the Republic of all the Troubles over the last 30 years. And nowhere else have the beneficial effects of the peace process been felt as in Dundalk," said the Minister for Social Affairs, Mr Ahern, a TD for Louth.

The chairman of Dundalk Urban District Council, Mr Pearse Hanrahan, said it was one of the greatest boosts the town could get. "I hope it will go a long way towards negating the bad press coverage the town has received over the years. I would be most at war with the portrayal of Dundalk as `bandit country'; it was most unfair on the vast majority of people in this town."

On the streets of Dundalk there was surprise at Mr Clinton's decision to visit the town. "I didn't know he was coming. It is the best thing that ever happened. I would love to meet him," said Ms Mary Byrne (79), of Newry Road.

"I am delighted, it will be a boost to the town and people and might get more people into Dundalk and get a lot of the troublemakers out," said Dundalk's Ms Trina Connolly.

"It will be a good thing; we have to try and get the town a good name again", said Ms Lorna Cooper (16), of Castle Heights, Dundalk.

Her friend, Ms Laura Belton (15), agreed. "The town has a bad name since the Omagh bombing."