While the Festival itself doesn't officially get under way until 2pm, setting up effectively begins at the crack of dawn. One of the most important functions in the early hours is to make sure that the area is roped off and coned and that cars do not park in areas reserved for Festival tents.

However, you can never be early enough for some people. This out of town registration is plonked just where a tent is due to go up and there is no sign of the owner.

Major confab. Garda alerted. Will it come to a tow job? Can it be done in time for the tent to be set up to catch the earliest visitors? I am not privy to the mechanics of the final solution, but I gather the owner eventually appeared and drove away.

Last year's Festival had a very special visitor. It probably would have been too much to have hoped for a repeat performance, particularly so soon after the Eucharistic Congress. However, the local RC church did rise to the occasion and left the Congress flags flying over the weekend.

Meanwhile tents were shooting up like the circus was coming to town. The near space in this picture would remain as open space for access for clients of Advance Pitstop at the north end of the block..

No relation I'm sure, but this fun truck must have made Barry smile. Needless to say there were balloons everywhere and they added greatly to the festve atmosphere.

The wind was adding to some people's problems, but at least the rain was holding off, and the tents were going up and staying up.

And there was also steady progress on the other construction site across the road in the Supervalu car park.

And in its sister site in front of AIB Bank. This was the only carpark on this side of the road given over to the Festival last year. The Supervalu car park, in the foreground, was additional Festival space this year.

The Park was still almost empty coming up to lunchtime. Where were the bouncy castles, the face painting, the reptile zoo?

Not forgetting the lapsed cameraman. No, he has not given up the photography. Quite the reverse. He is shooting timelapse sequences. See the amazing and amusing results. And make sure your sound is on.

I think these are what I think they are. However, to anticipate a little, I did not see them in use at all during the day. Perhaps my timeing was out, or perhaps people mistook them for the Tardis and had no wish to risk missing dinner for a trip to whoknowswhen. If I'm wrong here, I'll take a correction.