This morning will see a colourful gathering on Waterford's fine quays, with a horse-drawn carriage and people in period costume.
The pageant will call to mind, for the millennium, the extraordinary range of prominent and influential characters who have been associated down the centuries with the city's historic Granville Hotel.
The building was the home of the Meagher family, and Thomas Meagher snr was the first Catholic mayor of Waterford since the Reformation. His son, born there, was the famous patriot, Thomas Francis Meagher, "Meagher of the Sword", who later became a general in the US army and governor of Montana.
In 1832 the house was bought by Charles Bianconi, who instituted Ireland's first public transport system, a commercial horse carriage service that extended nation-wide. He converted the house into a hotel, and as his stagecoach network expanded, it is said that the distance in miles throughout Ireland was measured from this hotel.
Daniel O'Connell, "The Liberator", was a frequent visitor to the Meagher household. Charles Stewart Parnell also stayed there when he visited Waterford, and one of his last speeches was delivered to the citizens of the city from the upper storey of the hotel.
Inside the building, now a modernised 100-bedroom hotel, historic paintings and prints by artists such as Joseph Haverty (1794-1864) still hang on the walls, recalling events and personalities associated with the building and the city. In the lobby stands the Lord Roberts grandfather clock, once owned by Field Marshal Lord Roberts VC, who was made a Freeman of the city in 1893.
Along with a photographic exhibition, today's pageant will reflect the hotel's association with all those characters. As well as local civic dignitaries, the attendance will include representatives from the American, British and Italian embassies and an officer of the Thomas Francis Meagher Historical Society in Arlington, New York.
Some of the visitors, especially if they are being transported in the Bianconi-style carriage, may be tempted to try Thomas Francis Meagher's favourite drink, reputed to have been a measure of Jameson whiskey topped up with champagne.