Councils to invite Bruce Springsteen to visit town

Belvedere House and Gardens has been heralded as a possible venue for a Bruce Springsteen concert by the Cathaoirleach of Mullingar Town Council, Cllr. Ruth Illingworth, after it was discovered last week that the American rock musician has ancestral roots in Mullingar."There has been talk of a concert in the Market Square, though that might be a tight squeeze," said Cllr. Illingworth, "But Belvedere could be a very possible location for a concert. However if he just wants to come for a holiday here we would be very happy with that also."The Cathaoirleach also said there are plans underway to issue a formal invitation to "The Boss" to visit Mullingar some time in 2010."I was delighted to hear that Bruce Spingsteen has ancestral roots here. His great great grandmother definitely spent her childhood and young adulthood here in Mullingar," she continued."Bruce Springsteen is one of the top twenty greatest Americans of the last century, so I look forward to welcoming him to his ancestral home."Currently Mullingar Town Council and Westmeath County Council are working on sending a formal invitation for him to come and visit here some time in 2010."The Cathaoirleach also spoke of her delight at the visit paid by the BBC documentary Three Men in a Boat to Mullingar last week:"I thought that Three Men in Boat coming was a great boost for town and hopefully the coverage from the BBC this New Year will dispel the rather negative light in which RTÉ News depicted Mullingar recently," she said.The Cathaoirleach also signalled her regret at the announcement of the u-turn on the proposed Central development, but says there is still hope for a smaller retail outlet to go ahead in Blackhall:"It is regrettable that Central will not go ahead, particularly since the development would have created a large number of jobs, not only in the construction industry but in retail," she said, "But I hope that at some point in the near future a smaller scale retail development can take place there."I know some people will be saying that it is another blow for Mullingar, but it isn't because there are other things can be done with that site.""Despite Central I think that Mullingar is a great town to shop. I would urge people to shop local, especially coming up to the Christmas season, to go out and support Mullingar businesses and their friends," she finished.