Full of suspense: reengineering the shake into Cork's Shakey Bridge sparked global interest

A live online discussion hosted by Engineers Ireland on the bridge's history and refurbishment attracted a record attendance

Paul O'Callaghan and John Gamble, both from RPS Consulting Engineers, who worked on the Shakey Bridge, try it out after it reopened to the public in December 2020. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The past year and more of the global pandemic was ‘no great shakes’ on just about every front bar perhaps one, in Cork City, when crafty engineers managed to get the shake back into the reinstated 'Shakey Bridge'.

Getting the famous city landmark suspension pedestrian bridge back in perfect health after removal for refurbishment, and getting hundreds globally taking part in an online talk and presentation on how the ‘shake’ was reengineered into it, was a highlight of 2020, says Ronan Keane, outgoing chair of Cork Region of Engineers Ireland.