It was a very different scenario in Clonmel yesterday to the grim scenes of last December when the Seagate closure dropped like a bomb on the town.
The shock and the gloom of "that bleak mid-winter of 1997" - as former mayor Tommy Norris called it - were replaced by optimism and smiles generally.
In the early morning of December 11th, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, strode stern-faced into the factory to face hundreds of shift workers who had just been told their jobs were being eliminated.
Yesterday morning, a relaxed Ms Harney chatted with executives of the town's new Great White Hope - the Guidant Corporation - outside the same building, from which every sign and trace of Seagate had been removed.
The setting was fabulous. Birdsong embellished the perfectly landscaped grounds of the modern plant; the verdant hills flanking Clonmel peeped from under soft, laden clouds.
"It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful," conceded Deborah Russell, the chief executive of Guidant's propitious new Irish venture to manufacture small, incredibly expensive devices designed to keep the human heart beating normally.
"This is just a great facility, and a great town," said Ms Russell, who was planning to begin house-hunting immediately. With Guidant vice-president Randy Doyle she had landed at Shannon at 6.30 a.m. yesterday and drove straight to Clonmel.
Mr Doyle lit up a cigarette - "It's good for business," he joked darkly. Ms Harney could not resist a similar allusion to Guidant's merchandise a little later: "I think much of the media and some politicians will probably be using these products in the years ahead."
In the same conference room where Seagate executives had flagged their imminent departure last December, a different scenario was outlined to the press. The new Guidant operation, which will build up to 518 employees over five years, is only Phase 1 of a long-term project, Ms Harney said.
There was excitement around the town. Said local TD and Junior Minister, Noel Davern: "I couldn't express to you today what the feeling in town is - it's very high." Ms Harney revealed she had first met the Guidant management last March in Minneapolis, during an early post-Seagate industrial promotion tour in the US.
In the final analysis, Ireland beat off strong competition from the Netherlands, the UK and Puerto Rico.
The town's new mayor, Vera Hewitt, described the news as "a wonderful start to my year." Her predecessor, Mr Norris, who served through the black days and weeks after Seagate, said it was "a joyous day for Clonmel - the wheel has turned full circle." A few people reflected with foreboding that this elegant factory building has already seen two devastating industrial setbacks.
First Digital closed its manufacturing plant there in 1991, with the loss of 350 jobs; then its successor, Seagate, lasted only two years.