As I mentioned in a prior post, I thought it would be cool to see the Samuel Beckett Bridge open. Well, the very next day, the day before the official opening of the Dublin Tall Ships Festival, we were back on The Quays, checking out the pre-festival action. We watched one of the tall ships dock and, so, Becky asked one of the assistant harbormasters, who was helping to dock the ship, if and when they might open the Beckett bridge. He reported a scheduled opening at 8p that evening.

Since the kids usually go to bed at 7, we decided it was a bit too late for them, but I headed out to see the opening myself. I was glad we didn’t bring them, though, because it was after 8:30 before the bridge opened, and probably after 9 by the time it closed. I got there early, thinking there might be a lot of people out to watch, but there were hardly any, except for a small crowd that drifted out of the offices and pubs nearby just as the opening started. It was quite a spectacle to a see a 120 m, cable stayed bridge rotate in place, though, so I was glad that I went.

Almost all of those who did come to watch the opening, though, had disappeared by the time they started to close the bridge. So I moved over to stand in the middle of the (blocked) road. And, as the bridge started to close, I suddenly decided that I ought to make a time lapse of the bridge closing.

Here it is. It has numerous technical problems, owing to this being the first time that I’ve made such a video and my lack of prior planning. And there are much better videos on YouTube—in the daytime, even! But I still thought that it turned out pretty cool.