The Wheel of Dublin?

At the weekend we made it down to Dublin on the train. More about that shortly but in the meantime I just wanted to post the news of a quick celebrity spotting. It seems I'm just slow to realise these things but it turns out, the famous Belfast Wheel (located by Belfast City Hall from November 2007 to April 2011), is moonlighting in Dublin as the Wheel of Dublin!

The operators of the wheel, WTA (World Tourist Attractions) opened the attraction at North Wall Quay back in July 2010 a few months after it was removed from Belfast. Maybe I should read more in the local press as Ken Sweeney in the Belfast Telegraph told us this at the time. Ken says that the developers hope to get 2 years out of the wheel. Maybe then there is a chance that with the plans for the Titanic Quarter of Belfast, the attraction might be able to be convinced to wheel it's way back into town... if not the same one, maybe it's twin or something similar?

I remember there was word on the grape vine back at the time that such a move might be part of the plans. I certainly hope they are true. After travelling over the flyover today by the Odyssey, it seems the first stages of construction of the Titanic Signature Building are well under way. I can't find a timeline at the moment for stage 2 of the Titanic Quater project but hopefully it'll be a big boost to Belfast once completed... perhaps enough to convince anyone involved, to bring this or other attractions into town?

As I mentioned in my belated farewell to the Belfast Wheel back in May last year, the Wheel has a special place in our memories as it was at the top of it where Norngirl and I got engaged back in 2008. It was nice to see it again. Maybe next time we're down in Dublin we might take a spin on it for old times sake. To us though, it'll always be the Belfast Wheel even if it now looks over a different City.