Retailers and businesses closed for the past five weeks have spent the weekend preparing to reopen from Tuesday.
Many say the weeks between now and Christmas will be make or break for them.
In Kinsale, Co Cork, the Christmas tree in the centre of the town has already been lit and the streets have been decorated.
The town was bustling this afternoon, as traders endeavoured to make up for lost time.
Romanian leather craftsman Danny Albu and his wife Dana were in their store, The Leather Studio of Kinsale, preparing to reopen on Tuesday.
The couple have been in Kinsale for over a decade. They opened their leather studio just over a year ago, but their business has suffered as a result of the two protracted enforced closures this year. However, they remain positive as they ready the store for the public.
"We are so excited, because we still have three weeks of a chance to make money," said Danny. "Reopening is good news."
Frank Keane has had a shop in the town for the past 30 years.
For the past decade, he has been a chocolatier, manufacturing and retailing at Koko Kinsale.
He hopes the lifting of restrictions will be the beginning of the end of coronavirus.
"We need to reopen," said Frank, "lots of businesses need to get trading so that next year we can push on, pay our bills and keep going into next year with great hope. Let's face it: If there's a vaccine on the way, by mid-summer we should be trading normally."
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Barbara Nealon opened her 16-seater "farm-to-table" restaurant in Kinsale in June of last year.
Barbara is from west Clare, and she spent a number of years in California. Those years taught her how special the relationship between traders and customers is.
She has appealed to people to shop locally.
"Our local businesses are the things that bring life to our streets," she said. "They bring colour and vibrancy and atmosphere to the streets, especially in towns of our size.
"One thing we have all missed - even though we live in a beautiful place - you cannot beat the sense of going into a local store and buying something from them. It means the absolute world to an owner-run business."
2020 has been a difficult story for so many people.
With the relaxation of restrictions, businesses here and all over the country are hoping for a happier ending.
