A new currency in Wexford, Last Lights ceremonies in Kilkenny and a spectacular quayside celebration in Waterford are some of the many millennium events planned for the south-east.
Clonmel will hold a day of celebrations on Saturday, January 1st, to open a year of events commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Cromwellian siege of the town.
Carlow's business community has decided on another approach, eschewing a major celebration this weekend in favour of erecting more lasting monuments in the new year.
No city has spent more time planning its millennium celebrations than Waterford, which decided early last summer that biggest was best, announcing plans for a party unprecedented in scale in the south-east.
While one or two proposals proved a little over-ambitious - the "choir of 2,000 voices" has not materialised - the stage is set for a memorable and multifaceted event, beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday. For the following 10 hours, drama, community and school groups will depict Waterford's history in art form in events around the city.
These events will be followed at 8 p.m. by a gala countdown concert in the Theatre Royal, featuring acts such as Waterford natives Val Doonican and Tony-award winning actress Anna Manahan.
The focus then switches to the quayside for an outdoor show featuring such acts as local street theatre group Spraoi and including a fireworks display just after midnight.
The organisers say they expect 30,000 people to turn out for the finale.
Wexford has opted for a more low-key but equally inventive approach. A special currency, the yellow belly, has been issued in the town, with notes, valued at £1 each, available from local banks. The currency will be valid within Wexford for 1,000 hours of the new millennium, until February 11th.
The main public celebrations will take place on Saturday, including a 50-minute ecumenical service in Rowe Street at 3.30 p.m.
Between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the same day, children and the young at heart are invited to the library in Redmond Square car-park where they will receive a certificate, signed by the Mayor, Mr Ted Howlin, confirming that they spent the first day of the millennium in Wexford.
A special lemonade will also be available to children on the day. The events will conclude with a fireworks display on the quays.
Clonmel's main celebrations are also on Saturday, beginning at 4 p.m. when the bells of the town's churches will ring out to "clear away those New Year's Eve cobwebs".
Following an ecumenical service, a live music festival will culminate at 6 p.m. in a fireworks display.
Kilkenny will be the "happening" city it is every weekend but the official celebrations will be low-key. A Last Lights ecumenical ceremony, featuring up to eight local choirs, takes place at 4 p.m. on Friday in the forecourt of the Town Hall.
A similar event for the county will be held at St Mary's Abbey, Callan, at the same time.
While many bars elsewhere will remain closed for the evening, there is no shortage of ticket-only events in Carlow, most with live music.
Members of the town's chamber of commerce are drawing up plans for two permanent monuments to the event. Further details will be available in the new year.