The reconstituted Mallow Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its first year in existence, having secured £80,000 to promote and plan the future of the north Cork town.
The chamber contributed £20,000 and the rest came from State and European funding.
Now the chamber is planning, under the guidance of its president, Mr Pat Owens, a local businessman, to increase its directors from 10 to 20.
Mr Rochie Holohan, chief executive of the County Enterprise Board and a director of the chamber, said a motivating factor in the relaunch, just over a year ago, was a desire that Mallow should not just be seen as a dormitory town for Cork city.
"We wanted a resilient economic base, an entity in its own right and not just a suburb of Cork city. That is not to suggest that people working in the city are unwelcome in Mallow, but it is important for the town to retain its identity.
"We set out with a target of 30 paid-up companies and now we have 90."
The chamber has joined the local urban council and Cork County Council to devise an integrated plan for Mallow and its hinterland. Proposals for the relocation of a Government department in the town have been drawn up.
Mr Holohan said a town the size of Mallow had an attraction for shoppers that a major city could not provide. "There is a sense of community that is absent elsewhere." Meanwhile, the history of the Mallow GAA club is detailed in a new book, The Long Meadow, by local author Mr Derry Mannix. At its launch, the county GAA board chairman, Mr Jim Cronin, said: "No club is complete without its published history. It seems to bring everything together."