It's one of those little signs that summer is on the way. The ferry service between the east pier in Howth and Ireland's Eye, a mile-and-a-quarter offshore, will soon be starting its summer runs, which will continue until the end of October.
The ferry service dates from 1947, when Cyril Doyle, a Howth fisherman on holiday in Limerick, noticed a converted lifeboat being used for fishing, which he promptly bought. The boat had been built in London in 1909 for the RNLI at a cost of £892, expensive for its day. The wooden open craft depended on the rowing skills of its crew, as it had no engine. It was named the General R. Dudley Blake, after an RNLI benefactor, and went new to the lifeboat station at Blackrock, Co Louth. It served there until 1935, when the lifeboat station was closed down.
From then until 1947, its history was obscure, but after Cyril Doyle bought the boat, he piloted it up the Shannon and along the Grand Canal to Dublin. He promptly renamed the boat the St Therese and put in a diesel engine. It is still in service today, in excellent condition, licensed to carry up to 32 people across the narrow channel to Ireland's Eye between April 1st and October 31st.
The boat is now run by Mark Doyle, Cyril's grandson, together with his brother Greg. They also operate a sister boat, the Little Flower, which was bought by their father, Frank Doyle, father of Mark and Greg, back in 1960. The Little Flower was built in Dun Laoghaire in 1921. It can carry up to 30 people at a time across to Ireland's Eye. Frank Doyle was also the pilot in Howth Harbour which, in the days before smokeless fuels, used to take in shipments of coal as well as steel for the Parsons factory near the harbour.
This is the last season for the St Therese; even though the boat is perfectly sturdy and seaworthy, Mark Doyle has decided to replace it. So he is selling the vessel through Nelson's boatyard in Donaghadee, Co Down, which specialises in selling old lifeboats.
Mark Doyle also has another maritime life. When he not in Howth, he works as chief engineer on a ferry that plies between Rossaveal, Co Galway and the Aran Islands. When I caught up with him the other day, he was on Inisheer.
During the summer season, when the weather is calm enough for landing on Ireland's Eye, the Doyle brothers run frequent daily trips out to the island. It is a place of unspoiled beauty and peace, with just two buildings. In the centre of the island, there is a church, St Nessan's, whose origins go back to about 700 AD. Close to the landing stage, the island has a Martello tower, built in the early 19th century, when a Napoleonic invasion of these islands was feared. The rocky outcrop near this point of the island is called the Steer. The island's outstanding feature is a large free-standing rock called the Stack, just off its eastern side.
The island stretches for only about a quarter-mile in each direction. Its only inhabitants are thousands of sea birds and seals. Ireland's Eye currently has a big colony of gannets, on the rocky outcrops to the east of the island. About a dozen other species of sea birds can be seen, including cormorants and puffins; the noise and the smell from the shags is quite phenomenal.
Just offshore from the island, between it and the entrance to Howth Harbour, is a rocky outcrop called Thulla, home to numerous cormorants. It can be reached at low tide from Ireland's Eye, but getting there is very dangerous and not to be recommended. The channel between the island and Howth Harbour can also have strong currents.
Often, says Mark Doyle, sees considerable numbers of seals on the Rowan Rocks, which face Howth Harbour. For anyone not interested in bird-watching, the big attraction of the island, he adds, is simply its solitude. It is one of the few places in Ireland never to have seen any development.
Many families like to take the boat over in summer to picnic on Carrigeen beach. It's also a popular place for courting couples. People who like rock climbing can enjoy some steep challenges, but everyone must make sure to catch the boat back in the evening: there isn't even any fresh water on the island.
As for the name Ireland's Eye, it is a corruption of the original name of Eria's Island. One explanation is that Eria, a woman's name, became confused with Erin. Newfoundland in Canada also has an Ireland' s Eye, once a thriving fishing settlement, abandoned in the early 1960s.
Like any good seafarer, Mark Doyle has his own host of stories. In 1957, a whale and her two young offspring were stranded on the island, where they died. Keeffes the Knackers from Blackpitts in Dublin had to be called in.
Mark recalls one result of that episode: for weeks afterwards, his father and grandfather were pumping whale blood out of the boat.
It may be just a short boat trip from Howth Harbour to Ireland's Eye, but it's a journey into a different world, aloof from the frenzy of mainland life.