It took a long road to get to this point. But after years of trials and campaigning, the pedestrianisation of OConnell Street a main shopping street in Ennis, Co Clare has been confirmed as a permanent move from this March.The action by Clare County Council has been welcomed by a local campaign group after clear support from politicians, the public, and the majority of businesses on the street. The council made the announcement last Thursday that the pedestrianisation will be made permanent from March 2, 2026, with access to the street for deliveries allowed before 11am.The council said it comes after it had significant public engagement, which resulted in almost 90% of participants in a survey expressing support for some level of pedestrianisation, and over half supporting full pedestrianisation. The overwhelming majority of respondents 86.4% said that they visit the street daily or weekly, and the majority of the remainder said they visit it weekly.A door-to-door consultation with businesses, held during December 2025, showed that 80% of businesses supported pedestrianisation; the counciloutlined this in its consultation report.Ciaran Tiernan, a spokesperson for Better Ennis, a local group which has campaigned for years for the pedestrianisation, has said that more people spend time and enjoy OConnell Street while it is car-free.We have been campaigning since our founding, during Covid, for pedestrianisation of Ennis town centre. Over the years, we have had glimpses of just how much pedestrianisation could bring to our town centre, but we finally now have a decision to permanently pedestrianise OConnell Street, he said.Tiernan said that the benefits of pedestrianisation, as well as other measures such as cycle lanes, have been proven the world over making towns healthier, safer and more accessible for people of all ages and abilities.He said: We are now seeing children playing on OConnell Street, were seeing people using wheelchairs having better access to their town centre, and were seeing people spending more relaxed time enjoying OConnell Street.Wed like to thank everyone who embraced change for the positive over the years and we are grateful to the council for getting this over the line. We would urge everyone to keep pushing for more progress in the urban design of our town centre more age-friendly seating, more street planting, less street clutter, connected cycle lanes and wider footpaths. Improving walking and cycling access to the town centre should be a key focus and aspiration for the people of Ennis over the next few years, said Tiernan.He added: We would welcome more community policing on foot and on bike, and more organised street events. Making a town centre viable and vibrant is one which requires many different strands of work. The pedestrianisation of our OConnell Street is a great start. We need to continue the work.IMAGE: The street used to include narrow footpaths with a single, one-way traffic lane and car parking on the wider sections (Photo: Google Street View). MAIN IMAGE: A recent photo of OConnell Street (Photo: Better Ennis).Jason Murphy, director of service for Ennis Municipal District of Clare County Council, said, The council believes this arrangement will strike a balance between the operational needs of businesses and the desire for a more pedestrian-friendly environment.In a press release issued last week by the council, he said: Our vision is to foster a vibrant town centre, support the night-time economy and open new opportunities for local businesses.Patrick Tiernan, Clare County Councils acting senior engineer for the Ennis district, said: The proposed partial pedestrianisation of OConnell Street was informed by substantial engagement with the public and businesses.He said: A recent door-to-door survey of businesses in Ennis demonstrated overwhelming support for the initiative, with 80% of respondents in favour of some form of permanent pedestrianisation. Notably, over half of public survey respondents advocated for full pedestrianisation of OConnell Street, with 90% of respondents supporting some form of pedestrianisation.Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Mary Howard (Fine Gael), said: Almost 1,500 people took the time to complete the survey which informed this proposal and we are very grateful for their time and effort. Clare County Council now invites all residents, business owners, and stakeholders to engage with the Section 38 process and share their views on these proposed changes.The council said that submissions and observations on the proposals can be made by email to roads@clarecoco.ie or in writing to the Administrative Officer, Clare County Council, Roads and Transportation Department, ras Contae an Chlir, New Road, Ennis, Co Clare, before 4pm on Monday, February 16, 2026.ALSO READ: Journalism is all too often a poor fit when tackling car dominance