The President, Mrs McAleese, will officially open the visitor centre in Ballinamuck, Co Longford, on Saturday. Outside the town lies the site of the last great battle of the 1798 rebellion when advancing Irish and French troops were heavily defeated by regular British troops and local militia.
After the battle, most of the captured Irish were slaughtered but the French were taken prisoner, transported to Dublin and later returned home.
Ballinamuck bore the brunt of the victory and the blood-letting and the militia destroyed most of it while seeking out the rebels.
Two hundred years later that grim process is being reversed and the commemoration of that defeat has brought about a rebirth of the local community. On Saturday, the President will see the area action plan for the town.
It was compiled by Ballinamuck Community Exercise and UCD with funding from Longford Community Resources.
This plan has given the community an opportunity to participate in formulating proposals for the social and economic development of the area.
According to Mary McNamara, development project manager, the plan will enable the community to build on the commitment to and achievements of voluntary effort down the years.
The plan outlines how to ensure suitable developments are carried out in partnership with local groups and statutory bodies.
According to Ms McNamara, the converted RIC barracks - which is now the visitor and information centre - has become a focal point in the town.
The centre forms the basis for many projects which the group is now working on.
Projects currently being undertaken include the development of local lakes for angling and the development of local walking routes, including bog walks.
The centre may also be the base for a community resource centre, she says, which could be used to provide training courses similar to those being run in a local school by the LEADER II group.
The centre has on display a series of panels outlining the historical context of the Battle of Ballinamuck with maps and illustrations to convey as much of the story as possible.
Visitors to the centre will be taken on tours of the battle site where the event itself will be fully re-enacted on September 5th.