When is a main street not a main street? And can you create a main street if a town does not have one?
These are the questions facing traders and shoppers in Tullamore since a developer named his new €60 million shopping and office complex "Main Street".
The town does not have a Main Street, but William Street and High Street are seen as the principal shopping streets.
The developer, Mr Tom McNamara, is unapologetic for calling the 0.5 mile development Main Street, and says it will become the main shopping street in time.
The six-acre complex will open on September 1st and includes the low-cost supermarket chain Lidl, restaurants, convenience stores, dry cleaners, a pharmacy, a drive-through restaurant, filling station, 32,000 square feet of office space and apartments.
A multi-storey car-park with room for 300 cars has already opened. The development stretches from the Garda station to the ring road.
Mr McNamara said he and his co-developer Mr Paddy Sweeney have the right to name the development because it is 100 per cent funded by the private sector.
"There were no tax breaks, there was absolutely no public involvement so why shouldn't I have the honour of naming it?" he said.
"I was the one who put my neck on the block for this. This was a derelict area of the town and now it will be the jewel in the crown. I find it very strange that some people want to see the glass half empty when it's half full."
Criticism of the naming of the complex has been waxing and waning since the name emerged last year. It was questioned by the Urban District Council with some members expressing concern that it would shift the centre of the town from William Street and High Street to the new site.
They said it was confusing and asked where they should send tourists when asked for the main street.
Independent councillor and election candidate Ms Molly Buckley has been one of the most vocal critics. She said she has congratulated Mr McNamara for his development but still does not think the name is appropriate. "Tom McNamara, I know, appreciates the importance of our traders in Tullamore and the need to support each other. There is enough business for everyone. However, if we take from the main street that has existed for years in Tullamore, it will have a detrimental effect on the town," she said.
Mr McNamara said some people suggested he should call the complex Water Mill Lane. "But I'm not going to spend €60 million on a development and call it a lane," he says. "This is a street and there is no Main Street in Tullamore. I'm not changing the name. I'm not for turning."
Local hotelier and developer Mr John Flanagan said criticism of the complex was disappointing as it was a very welcome development for Tullamore, and will employ a lot of people at a time when jobs are being lost.
"We need more Tom McNamaras around Tullamore to do things like this," he said.
A spokesman for the Urban District Council said Mr McNamara had created the street and so could call it what he wished. However, following some local discussion, the local authority had advised the developer to contact the local historical society to see if there was an appropriate local name for the street.
The spokesman said it was likely the local authority would be asked to take over the maintenance of the street in the future. If it wished to change the name at that stage, then it would have to go through certain consultation procedures, under the Local Government Act.
He said he did not know if the local authority would wish to change the name but it would be less likely as the street became more established.