Have you seen this pier?

Posted: November 18th, 2004 | Author: jadearama | 29 Comments »

Joi Ito links to this rather funny sequence of photos. The location appears to be in Ireland. But can anybody say where exactly?

29 Comments on “Have you seen this pier?”

  1. 1 dermot said at 9:52 pm on November 18th, 2004:

    I think its roundstone as well. Not 100% certain. The truck has Galway plate so its definitely down the west, and I’m certain its Connemara somewhere

    Dermot

  2. 2 Michael Long said at 10:45 pm on November 18th, 2004:

    It is Roundstone, story was in Galway papers a few weeks ago. Sales reps car went into water and crane followed.

  3. 3 Justin said at 11:57 pm on November 18th, 2004:

    [reposting, since Antoin managed to delete the original comment in overzealous anti-spam mode!]

    It’s definitely in Co. Galway.

    A Golden Pages search for Michael Long, crane hire, returns some results — but it appears to just be an area just outside Galway, so I’d say they’re just Galway-city-based, and drove all the way out to retrieve the smaller crane.

    The pier looks an awful lot like the one in Roundstone, and the background shoreline would also suggest that, but I’m not sure there was a slipway in Roundstone in the same place as the one on the right of these pics…

    it’s a mystery. anyone fancy ringing the Michael Long number? here’s the link:

    http://www.goldenpages.ie/Results.asp?origin=HOME&rubric=select&what=crane+hire&where=galway

    [update: So it *is* Roundstone! In that case, my aunt has a holiday home in one of those houses on the right ;) ]

  4. 4 Cliph said at 10:08 am on November 19th, 2004:

    The same photos at a more accessible link: http://zattevrienden.realroot.be/depanneren.htm
    (The one above wanted me to login).

  5. 5 Justin said at 12:10 am on November 21st, 2004:

    Full scoop, from a local, here:

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=202962

  6. 6 Mags Deasy said at 8:51 pm on December 1st, 2004:

    No way, its definitely out past skibberean somewhere, west cork anyway

  7. 7 David Dyck said at 6:13 am on December 10th, 2004:

    I think that the last picture was doctored.
    look at the last picture where
    the big crane was in the water too, look in the background at the red car on the pier
    it was there in the early pictures – look a the people too – then look at the second to
    last picture – there is a van in front of the red car…
    also compare the first picture after the first crane was fully in the water
    – compare the position of the people with the last picture of the second crane
    in the water. Lastly, where did the foreground branches go?

    There are a whole bunch of sites that don’t have the last picture in it either.

    http://www.vertikal.net/en/stories.php?id=1190

    http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/kiwif/truck.html

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=202962#postmenu_2097473

    http://www.munsterfans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4543

  8. 8 Mike said at 8:59 pm on December 13th, 2004:

    I thought something was fishy about that last picture, but it took David’s post for me to look more closely. The red car is a great observation. In the red crane photos, the background land areas are clear. In the green crane photos, the fog has rolled in, but inexplicably lifts as the green crane enters the water.
    There’s also the white raft boat in each red crane photo, but none of the green crane photos except for the last one.
    I’d also ask you to compare the position of the people in the red crane in the water photo and the people (remaining) in the green crane in the water photo.
    Lastly, where did all the cars go in between the second to last photo and the last one.
    Okay, I’ve belabored this. T’was fun. I love PhotoShop, but a good fake is hard to find.
    Mike

  9. 9 mike mikkelsen said at 11:06 am on December 14th, 2004:

    The last picture is certainly a hoax, a Photo Shop recreation. Compare that photo to that of the first rescue rig upside down in the water. First of all, the Zodiac-type inflatable in the background (tied to the work boat) is exactly the same. Next, look at the people – the two fellows standing off to the right are the same as is the other walking toward them. Look at the reflection in the water – identical when it shouldn’t be. And note the piece of floating debris (green – lower left) that is in the same spot in both photos (VERY unlikely). Furthermore, it appears that the silver sedan parked next to the deliver van next to the building is gone after the first few photos, then reappears in the last photo. Also, the Michael Long crane operator obviously put out orange emergency cones (there is one present in front of the crane) but in the last photo the one which was visible has disappeared. I thought I could see a slight change in water level due to the tide but that may just be differing perspective in the photos.

  10. 10 Lowell said at 6:18 pm on December 14th, 2004:

    A hoax, all the people on the right are in the exact same position in photo 5 as in the final picture…from USA viewer

  11. 11 Lee Hanley said at 8:25 pm on December 15th, 2004:

    Compare the fifth picture and the last picture. (I received 11 pix). Note the t-shirted young man, arm in front of him standing just above the yellow box on a post on the dock (he’s one of a trio that return on picture 15(. He hasn’t moved. Also note the white raft’s return to the side of the red boat on picture 15. Just for kicks I think I’m going to recreate this gag using Photoshop. And I hope the trio aren’t still standing there! Actually I was sorry to find it was a fraud.

  12. 12 Mickey said at 4:09 pm on December 16th, 2004:

    This is definitely Roundstone. I have pictures of that yellow lifesaver ring at the end of the pier. I can picture exactly where, on the road, the photographer is standing. And after reading these, I can see the last pic (fortunately, for Michael Long Truck and Crane) is a fake. But a funny one, nonetheless

  13. 13 Smellybegs said at 5:00 pm on December 16th, 2004:

    Get a life. Its killybegs in Co Donegal. The dog that appears in pic4 is my neighbours dog called tiddles. So there with your photoshop and roundstone

  14. 14 Bill said at 7:24 pm on December 17th, 2004:

    Only the Irish could start a punch up about whether the last pic is genuine or where the pictures were taken. God I love you guys, your Scottish cousin, Willie.

  15. 15 Mike said at 3:01 am on December 18th, 2004:

    I guess the most incriminating evidence (that the last photo is a fake) is the lack of water disturbance as the first crane is supposedly falling back into the water while the second crane tips over.

  16. 16 Rainer Schmid said at 9:04 am on December 21st, 2004:

    Hello Ireland, the pier is in Roundstone, see the photos in

    http://www.castlebar.ie/photos/the-west/Roundstone/harbour-2893.html

    A barbarian Bavarian from munich, Germany wishes “Merry Christmas” to beautiful Ireland an hopes to see the Irish National Team here in munich in 2006 – I finally want to wear my green world Cup 2002 Irish Football Shirt in an Irish match

    Rainer Schmid

  17. 17 Blood Pressure said at 8:07 pm on April 9th, 2005:

    blood pressure

  18. 18 sinders said at 11:42 am on January 31st, 2006:

    i just got this picture on an email from funnies.com and today is the last day of January 2006….. it’s doing the rounds a long time ..
    ;o]

  19. 19 jonathan said at 9:44 pm on February 21st, 2006:

    the crane is from galway and no it did not go in the water as well mike was called to life out the other truck and car. roundstone is where it happened too

  20. 20 Dawn said at 2:02 am on March 29th, 2007:

    I just received the pictures in an email titled “And you think you had a bad day”. Still including the fake larger crane falling, and it’s March 28, 2007, in Buffalo, New York area of USA. Even without the fake, the first crane falling is funny!

  21. 21 Murray said at 10:58 pm on May 23rd, 2007:

    The last picture is so obviously a fake. It’s a great series of pictures though, that crane is massive. It’s probably hardly ever used, and must have cost upwards of £200,000 or the euro equivalent lol.

  22. 22 Macie said at 2:37 pm on July 6th, 2007:

    I think you guys are looking way too into this, it provided a laugh so whatever!

    Fake or not it’s still funny so there!

    :-P

  23. 23 Stephen said at 5:30 pm on November 1st, 2007:

    November 1st 2007

    Just received this set of pictures from a Brazilian relative, headed:
    ‘Resgate de um carro em Portugal’ (Rescue of a car in Portugal). Nothing about the scene looked Portuguese to me, and when I followed up on Michael Long Truck and Crane Hire I got to this page – not only not in Portugal, but also a fake! Just shows that Brazilians still like to make Portugal the but of their jokes, even when the jokes are not theirs!

  24. 24 Miguel said at 7:08 pm on April 1st, 2008:

    The Brazilians aren’t very creative humorists.. Puta que os Pariu! :D

    Miguel from Portugal

  25. 25 John said at 10:19 pm on April 3rd, 2008:

    Just seen these pictures so its still doing the rounds!

  26. 26 Milskin said at 11:52 am on February 12th, 2009:

    I just got the email on 12th Feb 2009 – this is OLD. I bet my dad only just got it for the first time though! :)

  27. 27 Jeff said at 6:37 pm on February 19th, 2009:

    Just got an email with these pictures in it, except it’s labeled – US TARP bailout!

  28. 28 angie smith said at 10:57 am on July 2nd, 2009:

    This is Roundstone.

  29. 29 IT Admin said at 1:03 pm on October 13th, 2010:

    This is definitely Roundstone, Co. Galway, Ireland as I’ve just found it on Google Street View. I see the email with the fake picture at the end is doing the rounds again.

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