Thirty-seven young workers have begun learning how to control wildfires in a spectacular location overlooking Dublin Bay.
The youngsters can be seen leaping nimbly across rocky outcrops at Howth Head, under the watchful eye of Melissa Jueken.
"They love this job," she tells me, cradling one of them in her arms.
In case you haven't guessed it, the new additions to Melissa's workforce are kid goats, and she is their herder.
"We had 29 nannies in kid and we now have 37 bouncing kids as a result."
Melissa has been managing the Old Irish Goat herd at Howth since it was reintroduced to the area in 2021.
The groundbreaking project is part of efforts to save Ireland's only indigenous goat breed from extinction.
The Howth Head herd has been deployed to protect the priority heathland habitat and surrounding homes from wildfires, which are seen as an increasing risk because of climate change.
The goats do this by reducing gorse cover and creating natural firebreaks.
"They're just the best animals to do this job. They contain the firebreaks naturally without the need for machinery or pesticides. They're safeguarding this habitat and the homes here," Melissa explains.
Virtual fencing linked to their GPS collar allows Melissa to control and target where the goats graze.
The firebreaks created by the goats form natural barriers which stop the spread of fire and also provide control lines from which firefighters can work.
As the goats live on the picturesque Howth Head, people are asked to keep dogs on a lead when walking near where they are grazing.
"When the project started it was me with my 25 goats," Melissa explains.
"Now that the project has expanded, we are targeting different sites and certain groups are stationed out 24/7. Their main threat and risk is dogs.
"So, we ask the public to keep their dogs under control. Our critically endangered goats are very precious to us, to the herd, to the breeding program and to us as a nation."
The project has proven popular with the local community over the past 18 months.
There is now a 16-strong volunteer group, called the 'Goat Squad', who help Melissa look after the goats.
Fingal County Council and The Old Irish Goat Society have launched a public competition via their website to name the kid goats.
"We have kids named after the three Irish goddesses Fódhla, Banba and Ériu. We also have Aiteann which is the Irish for gorse and her twin Fraoch which is the Irish for heather. Uisce is the firefighter's representative - the Irish for water," Melissa explains.
"There are five kid goats yet to be named. We are asking for Irish names, connections to heritage or mythology. Things like that."
