The first big catalyst for change was the Scotch Hall shopping centre, which opened at the end of 2005. It has 24,000 sq m of retailing space and 55 retailers; and Dunnes Stores is the anchor. It still has a few small units to let in the food court area and a small unit on the first floor, but apart from that, it's full.

"We got an average weekly footfall of 115,000 in our first year of trading and most of the traders are doing up to 40 per cent better this year compared to last year," says centre manager Mark Morgan, who expects the annual footfall to grow fast towards eight million a year.

The other big site in Drogheda, St Laurence Town Centre, has been delayed; originally, it was due to open in October 2005, but didn't.

But already, a good number of units have opened there, mainly fashion, and more are opening this May.

The first retailer to move in was Marks & Spencer, which reports healthy trading in foods and fashions. The St Laurence Town Centre suffers from a confusion of names; some people refer to it as the Laurence Street Centre, while others call it the Laurence Centre, which seems the one most likely to stick. It has been developed by Dundalk-based firm Parolen and has slightly less retail space than Scotch Hall, about 20,000 sq m.

Morgan says that the footbridge connecting Scotch Hall with the main part of Drogheda, on the other side of the River Boyne, is vital. "About 35 per cent of our footfall comes across the footbridge."

He also says that the footbridge allows people to move freely across the river, between the two centres. But car parking is essential and he says that the open-air and multi-storey car parks are working well. One of the centre's most recent innovations was the introduction of a Child Safe programme in April.

Morgan also says that the arrival of the two shopping centres has encouraged other retailers to open elsewhere in the Boyne-side town. But the disaster area is West Street, Drogheda's main thoroughfare, which is being pedestrianised.

However, the work is running several months behind schedule and as a result of the work and car parking problems, many traders in West Street have reported their trading levels falling by up to 50 per cent. One of those traders suffering in West Street is Dunnes Stores, which has long had an outlet there that it has retained, despite opening in Scotch Hall.

Drogheda also has a couple of retail parks on its outskirts. The Drogheda Retail Park is the best retail park in the north-east, says Marcus Wren, a director of Bannon Commercial. He explains that a planning application has been lodged for a further 3,500 sq m, including an additional 2,800 sq m of retail warehousing, food outlets and a car servicing depot. This will bring the scheme up to a total of 20,000 sq m, with over 800 surface car parking spaces.

The line-up includes TK Maxx, Harvey Norman, Homebase, Argos Extra, DID Electrical, Harry Corry, Halfords, KFC and Opel; and they are due to be joined in July by Land of Leather. Rentals levels for units in the third phase will be about R240 per sq m.

The population of Drogheda, currently around 35,000, is set to more than double within the next 10 years, meaning many more retailing opportunities. Already, there's talk of a third retail park being developed.

Eugene Kierans, who is president of the Drogheda Chamber of Commerce, says: "Drogheda was undershopped up to now. Even though the population is growing so fast, with many commuters to Dublin now living in the town, it's not over-supplied even now."

He says that he's very optimistic about the way that retailing is developing in Drogheda. Kierans' own speciality food shop is on West Street and he's confident that once all the roadworks are completed, the street will see much development, with more upmarket speciality shops, cafés and restaurants.

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