Tyrrellspass in Co Westmeath is more than just a small place where motorists have to slow down on their travels between Dublin and the West.
It is, according to the local people, "The Tidy Town", because it was the first winner of the Tidy Towns Competition way back in 1969, a proud boast.
Since then it has attracted many admirers with its crescent shape, the brainchild of Jane, Countess Belvedere, who created and designed the village.
She also designed one of Ireland's first orphanages, which is 200 metres from the well-known village green, just out of sight of the main road.
It is ironic, then, that just as Westmeath County Council is speeding ahead with the restoration of Belvedere House, the beautiful building near Mullingar where the Countess lived, her orphanage may be demolished by order of that same body.
Next week the council's planners will decide whether a developer should be allowed demolish the five remaining houses which made up the building.
Local schoolteacher Mr Anthony Hartnett, who chairs a sub-committee of Tyrrellspass Town Development Association - which was set up to help restore the houses - said this week that local people are very upset about what may happen.
"These houses have been a part of the village since 1843 and originally there were six of them. Five of them are still standing," he said.
"They were used until 1947 by the orphanage. But when it closed, the houses became the property of the local church. They were rented to local people." He added that one of them had to be demolished after a fire and the rest fell into disrepair as tenants built their own homes and moved out.
The council eventually acquired the site and in recent years he had been chairman of a subcommittee of the local development association, which hoped to refurbish the houses.
"We got an architect's report which said that the six houses could be restored to their former glory for £400,000, and we were working on a plan to integrate them into a local tourism plan. We had envisaged that we could use the houses at the top end of the tourism business and we have had support from FAS and the other agencies which show us that this is possible," he explained.
"We were astonished then when, just before Christmas, we saw a planning application in the local paper for the demolition of the houses and the erection of new houses on the site. We are totally opposed to it and we intend to fight it all the way.
"We want to push on with our own plan, if possible, but our primary concern is to save and restore the old buildings and preserve the integrity of the village," he said.
Mr Hartnett, who is vice-principal of St Joseph's School in nearby Rochfordbridge, said 60 people in the village had already signed a petition to the council to oppose the demolition.
Most of the councillors had been supportive but some were not and there was still a possibility that the precious heritage could be lost forever, he added.
"I think that residents of any village should have the full say in the development of their local place and I will be very upset if that does not happen here."