Greg and Mary Anne Bilson had attended previous festivals, at Rathmines Park, but opted not to go to last week’s event.

But it didn’t stop them from getting arguably the best seat in the house – on the balcony of the second storey of their home – for the festival’s star attraction.

‘‘We heard the noise of the Orion, first, and saw the Catalina in the distance,’’ Mr Bilson said.

‘‘The Catalina made three or four passes over the northern end of the bay, then as it left it turned south and headed straight for our house.’’

Mr Bilson had barely enough time to grab his camera and set it to ‘‘rapid fire’’.

‘‘I was surprised by how quickly the Catalina moved,’’ he said.

‘‘As it passed over us it was just a flash.

‘‘But it was so close you could count the rivets on the bottom of the hull.’’

Mrs Bilson, who videotaped the encounter, said the engines generated the sort of deep rumble that you feel in your chest.

Mr Bilson concurred.

‘‘It was such a spectacle seeing it so close, and then there was the thunderous sound pumped out by those magnificent motors,’’ he said.

During wartime, enemies who witnessed the Catalinas rumbling in overhead must have found the experience terrifying, Mr Bilson said.