The most convincing evidence of the changing fortunes of Carrick-on-Shannon is the fact that young people are returning. And many are not just coming home to jobs but are creating work for themselves.
A 28-year-old engineer, Mr Niall McLoughlin recently left a job in Dublin to come back to develop the family business. While his father and grandfather built up one of the most successful construction companies in the county, Niall plans to develop a technology and business park on a 35-acre site owned by the family. The idea is to get a technology-based firm on to the site, to have office support services, and eventually to have a cluster of companies working side-by-side.
His confidence in Carrick-on-Shannon is such that he believes this is all achievable. Initial work has been done on the site and he has teamed up with a local auctioneer to promote it. He has also been in touch with the IDA and is hopeful it will get involved at a later stage.
"I came home because I see big opportunities in Carrick. It is a town that is growing; we have a land portfolio and basically there is money to be made here," he says.
The tax incentives offered under the Upper Shannon Rural Renewal Scheme were also a major factor, as they should make the task of finding investors a lot easier.
He says that after working in Dublin for five years, he wanted to get back to the country for a better quality of life. "People who are from the country in particular would say that they really want to move out of the city," he says.
As facilities develop in smaller towns, he believes there isn't so much to be gained by living in Dublin, although he concedes that Carrick-on-Shannon is still without a multiplex cinema.
Like others, he argues that an industrial development, preferably in the technology sector, is badly needed to sustain the economy.