The Banner Plaza
M18 at exit 12
(also accessible to traffic on the N85)
Signposted from the road.
V95 TXA3
map and directions
Offline (
The first major motorway facility in the west of Ireland opened in November 2025 under the title The Banner Plaza.
Facilities
Catering: Mac's Place, Papa John's Pizza, Supermac's Drive Thru, SuperSubs, Moo Parlour, Mama Rich's Asian Cuisine, Brú Barista Coffee Shops: SPAR Amenities: Outdoor Space: Charging Points: Forecourt: Texaco
Parking Prices
Parking is free for all vehicles for a maximum of two hours only.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Kilbreckan
Clarecastle
Ennis
Co. Clare
Eircode: V95 TXA3
- 🌍 Official Plaza Group/The Banner Plaza website
- 📞 Telephone number: 065 671 9311
- 📌 what3words: ///hotdog.elephants.headrest
- more map options
Trivia and History
The design of the plaza is very similar to other Plaza Group sites, such as their previous motorway site at Portlaoise, which opened five years earlier. It has all its facilities downstairs and extra seating and toilets upstairs. It takes up a 4.8 hectare site, and represented an €18 million investment.
Supermac's claim the new plaza showcases Ennis's history of Irish music, arguing that the motorway was taking trade away from the town and that they wanted to change this. ePower have received a grant to build a high-speed electric vehicle charging hub here.
Planning History
Knowing that new stretches of motorway were coming and that the Irish road authorities would be slow with service areas, Supermac's first proposed a facility in 2014. They branded it J12 Ennis and received planning permission, but following objections from Applegreen and a local filling station it went to An Bord Pleanála, who raised environmental concerns.
The new Transport Infrastructure Ireland began plans for a new network of motorway service areas in 2015, with Ennis being one of the first proposals. They then started calling it Newmarket-on-Fergus services, and said it would be built between J10 and J11.
The SuperStop consortium issued plans for a service area near Dromoland Castle in 2015, which most likely would have been branded Applegreen. It would have had a single, large amenity building with space for five outlets with parking areas all around it. It was rejected because there was a preference for the TII development, as well as problems with its road layout and design and an objection from Supermac's.
At this stage the motorway was complete, and TII warned there would be delays to their own proposals while they reviewed their procedures. They would later confirm they had suspended all work on the Newmarket-on-Fergus project in 2020, and that this situation won't be reviewed until 2027.
Supermac's submitted an updated proposal in 2020, which was eventually approved by An Bord Pleanála in October 2022. This used the title Ennis Plaza. A judicial review was called in by an objector who claimed the planning permission didn't acknowledge the subject of waste water, owing to a flaw with the assessment of the project's impact on special areas of conservation. Ennis Chamber had been concerned that a service area would take trade from local villages, while Supermac's tried to argue that the motorway was already doing this.
The process was mired by allegations of foul play. Supermac's distanced themselves from a number of forged letters sent in support of the proposal. Applegreen objected to the project, claiming it was an unsuitable location, and there were a number of other objectors, including Maxol. Supermac's alleged that Applegreen offered to withdraw their objection in return for being offered the petrol station at the site.
Another controversy emerged in August 2025, when Friends of the Irish Environment launched a High Court case against Uisce Éireann for agreeing to take the plaza's sewage, arguing that it would lead to more wastewater being released into rivers.
After being referred to in planning as "Ennis Plaza", the new name The Banner Plaza was unveiled when the site quietly opened on 7 November 2025. An official ceremony expected in 2026.
Alternatives
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| Birdhill (M7, 56 km) | Services on the M18 (Ireland) | Galway Plaza (M6 east, 70 km) |
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