Kinnegad, gateway to the midlands, is back in the news following allegations by local people that the town is being ignored by Westmeath County Council. The town, which for years gave motorists nightmares because of traffic jams, lost its black-spot status when a slip-road to draw off Galway-bound traffic was opened recently.
The villagers have reacted well to the changes which the slip-road has brought, and were delighted when Kinnegad was nominated by the Westmeath County Manager, Ms Ann McGuinness, for Small Town Renewal status.
This scheme, part of the urban renewal programme under which developers get tax breaks and other benefits for building on derelict sites, could have transformed the town.
In fact, most recent developments in provincial towns have been fuelled by this scheme, which has rejuvenated provincial Ireland.
However, when the proposal came before Westmeath County Council, Kinnegad's application was rejected and, instead, Castlepollard, Kilbeggan and Moate were included.
According to the chairman of a newly elected body, Kinnegad and District Action Group, local businessman Denis Coyne, a Fianna Fail pact spoiled Kinnegad's chances of development.
"Fianna Fail members met before the meeting and they voted together to exclude us. What is annoying about this is that this whole issue was not supposed to be political." In a sense, he said, Kinnegad was being punished because it did not have enough Fianna Fail representation.
Mr Coyne said the town was facing enormous changes because of the slip-road and a proposed bypass which would take all west/north-west traffic off its streets.
"People involved in the catering sector were dependent on this traffic and they have suffered. This town has tripled in size over the last three years. Where will we find work for the young people?" he asked.
He said more than 200 students left the town every morning; the town needed a secondary school very badly.
The vice-chairman of the group, Mr Robert Bagnall, was less restrained in his comments. He said the vote by the council was a kick in the teeth for Kinnegad. "We are being bypassed in every way you could imagine, not just by the roads."
The mood at a meeting called after the decision against Kinnegad was "very angry", he said, and they had decided to continue fighting the decision.