Brad can save us from being the Pitts; EXCLUSIVE: FISHERMEN HOPE THEIR BIGGEST CATCH WILL RESCUE VILLAGE.

For over 300 years Clogherhead Harbour has been the pits.

Neglect and lack of investment have allowed the small pier to go to ruin.

Fishing has always kept the village ticking over - but nowadays the fishermen run for cover every time there's a gale force warning, fearing their trawlers will be wrecked.

Clogherhead's small pier can't protect the 30-boat fleet, so some head for Drogheda instead, five miles away. Others have to go as far as Howth, 25 miles up the coast.

Their dilemma has been slowly killing the picturesque County Louth village - until Brad Pitt arrived. The Hollywood hunk fell in love with the place and decided to use the location to shoot scenes for his new movie with Harrison Ford, Devil's Own.

But not before he sent a team ahead to clean up the harbour. There was more work done in those few weeks of the facelift than there had been over the past few decades.

Walls were rebuilt, graffiti removed, an eyesore cottage renovated and a mountain of rubbish taken away. Even the seals in the harbour seemed to be smiling once their "home" had been given the kiss of life.

But the regeneration won't stop there if Brad gets his way. He plans to ask the Irish Government why the fishermen can't have a harbour worth its salt.

It would cost pounds 4 million to erect a new breakwater, extend the pier, and save 350 jobs in the local community.

With fishing and tourisim providing the backbone of the local economy, repairs to the harbour are essential if the picturesque fishing village is to survive. The locals are in no doubt the village still has a lot going for it. The county council has doen its best to secure funding, but drew a blank at the Department of the Marine.

Everyone except the Government seems to have confidence in the village.

Spirits were running low - until Brad arrived. Word of the film has spread like wildfire and hundreds of tourists are turning up every week to see the set.

Brad is due to land in Clogherhead next week.

Locals expect an even bigger invasion, as visitors descend on the village to see 'the sexiest man alive'.

Before Brad Pitt, the fishermen's biggest catch was a bundle of secret documents dumped from an American nuclear submarine, which caused political ructions.

Now the locals hope their latest catch will stir political waters once more.

Publican Tony Lawless, chairman of Clogherhead Development Group, said: "Brad's the best chance we have of getting the money for the harbour. If the harbour dies, the village dies, and the harbour has been dying.

"We urgently need the Department of the Marine to get on with the job."

He added: "The film will be a great boost to tourism here. Every woman in Ireland will want to get a glimpse of Brad."

In Devil's Own, the heart-throb plays an IRA terrorist who joined the organisation after he saw his dad being shot dead by the security forces.

He commits a series of atrocities and flees to America after being named as the most wanted man in Britain. He links up with his uncle, played by Harrison Ford, who's not aware he's a terrorist.

Devil's Own has a pounds 60m budget and is set in an Irish fishing village in the early 1970s.

The streets of Inchicore in Dublin are being turned into Belfast, with the rest of the movie being shot in America.

Brad and Harrison Ford arrived in Dublin this week, and filming begins today. The Clogherhead shoot takes place over three days next week.

Tony Lawless, who owns the Sail Inn pub, has a promise for Brad as the village eagerly awaits his arrival. Says Tony: "If Brad helps us get our harbour fixed, he'll be a free man of Clogherhead for life."