Turning Athlone into a city could devalue 15 years of work and threaten investment in neighbouring counties, opponents of the proposal fear. In 2007, business representatives in Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar formed the Midlands Gateway Chamber with a view to promoting the entire midlands region. He said he would not engage in controversy over Athlone’s potential city status as it was out of his control. It doesn’t seem to be now.”Regional cityLast year Athlone made a pitch for city status in a submission to the framework. “As a city region, we have capacity to scale and become home to many more people and jobs.

Source: The Irish Times February 16, 2018 00:56 UTC