It was a great thrill when the day arrived for us to make the trip to Skerries, and the excitement grew bigger when we got to Connolly and were told we would be travelling by puffer. An old steam engine which had been saved from the scrapyard was standing on platform seven looking like new.

It didn’t take long to get us onto the train and everyone got very excited when the old puffer gave a long blast on the whistle. Soon there were a few jerks and we began to move slowly out of the station.

One little fella was heard to say “Look, Mammy, the ground is moving!” The other children laughed at this and so the happy mood was set for the day. The old puffer was picking up speed and soon we were going through places with names like Portmarnock, Malahide, Rush until someone shouted “Skerries is next.”

After the train stopped we got out onto the station and as the train pulled away it looked as if it was going right out into the country.

We had to go down stairs and through a tunnel to get out on the other side and soon we were on the beach. As the sun was shining there was a race to get into the swimming gear and be first down in the water. The fun was great and we were running from the sand into the water and diving under. We played tip and tig and donkey. Some of the boys and girls were ducking one another until someone shouted “Crabs” and the water was cleared in a second.

All the games were played over and over until it was time for the picnic. We had lots of goodies like sandwiches of all kinds, cake, biscuits, crisps, lemonade, and to finish it off ice-cream. While sitting there we heard the adults talking about Red Island and how they used to go there dancing and others often had holidays or weekends there.

When we were leaving the city we were told we would see boats and so at this point we set out for the harbour. When we got to the harbour there was a full tide and the water was calm and to see all the different boats was like a picture.

As we moved further around the harbour, we saw the place where the ice is stored for the fishing trawlers that operate out of Skerries. Some of the names of the boats were interesting and we wondered who thought them up.

An old fisherman mending some nets told us about the days when they had to row out in boats to shoot their nets to catch fish, mostly whiting and cod. “We caught lots of prawns and we would eat them raw as well as boiled. Compared to those days the boats are much better but it’s still a hard life,” he said.

A couple of trawlers were unloading their catch and sea gulls were swooping down to try and get some fish. Just then something appeared above the water and it was being called everything from a shark to a whale. Wacker McDonnell said it was a dog, Jacko Maguire said it was a cat because it had whiskers. In the end, the fisherman told us it was a seal.

There was great excitement then waiting for it to come to the surface again. The fisherman told us that there was fish in the harbour once the seal was there.

We made our way back to the beach by way of the rocks at the back of the harbour. As we went along we collected some winkles. Little Maggie Molloy was heard to say “There’s maggots inside the shells.” Her friend Mary Jones said she wouldn’t eat them because “they were like snails.” Joe O’Toole said winkles were lovely and their family always collected them when they went to Loughshinney.

As we continued along the rocks, three small islands came into view and great interest was taken in them when we were told the one with the tower on it was built to keep the coast safe from invaders many years ago.

Some of the children imitated what would have happened and in no time at all they had the enemy beaten. Soon we were back to the beach, and a game of rounders was organised at which there was great fun. Arguments went on all the time about who was out and who was in, who had run round the base and who had let the ball hit the ground.

The game went on until it was decided we’d have a swim before we headed for home. With shouts of “Last dive, last swim,” we packed our bags and cleaned up the beach area we were on and set on the road up the hill to the station.

Soon we spotted the train coming in from the country and it was like a big snake making its way along the tracks. As we got on the train some settled in for a snooze, others played cards and some sang their way home, all happy in the knowledge that it was a great day and that Skerries would see them again soon.