In Co Cork, Cobh may be the place to be for what promises to be a spectacular millennium fireworks display on New Year's Eve, if the night is clear.
Cobh Urban District Council has commissioned the display from a London firm, the Happy Dragon Fireworks Co, which has created fireworks displays in many parts of the world.
The Naval Service has made its headquarters at Haulbowline island available to the UDC for safety reasons. Up to 2,000 people are expected to attend the display, and it was felt that there might have been a safety risk if the fireworks had been set off on the quays in the town.
Before the display begins a series of detonators will be set off around the island to herald the passing of one millennium and the arrival of another. The Martello tower on the north-eastern side of the island will then be illuminated.
As dusk gathers, the illuminated tower and its 24-pounder cannon will be visible from around the harbour. Then, at five minutes to midnight, the tower will be fully floodlit and the cannon will be fired to mark the passing of the millennium.
The cannon has been fired only twice before - in 1807, on the occasion of the commissioning of the tower, and on July 12th, 1996, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Naval Service.
On that occasion, the then President, Mrs Robinson, who was on board the LE Eithne, reviewed the Irish naval fleet in the presence of naval vessels from Britain, the US, Canada, Belgium and Holland.
Although most of the public houses in Cobh will be closed on the night, the organisers feel that this will not deter people from visiting the town to see the display.
Cork Corporation plans to light up almost all the city's bridges, and the bells of the city's churches will ring out at midnight.
There will be a free gala concert in Cork City Hall between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., featuring the soprano Cara O'Sullivan, as well as a free open-air concert for younger people at the newly-designed plaza opposite the Opera House.
As midnight draws near, some 2,000 schoolchildren will gather on the city's bridges with lighted candles in a sign of hope for the future.
At St Fin Barre's (Church of Ireland) Cathedral there will be a Last Light service. People will gather just before sunset for prayers of greeting, readings from Scripture, the lighting of candles and a recital of the Lord's Prayer.
The closing sentence of the reading, from Psalm 90.4, will be: "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday, when it is past, or like a watch in the night."
There will be other celebrations in towns throughout Cork, where local communities have put in place events mainly involving religious themes. One such will be at Gouganebarra, synonymous with St Finbarr, who founded Cork city.
In all, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate throughout the county on the night despite the decision of publicans and taxi-drivers not to make their services available.