As of last month, there have been 12 farm fatalities in Ireland this year, matching the total for all of 2024. This means farms are statistically the most dangerous workplace. The primary causes of these fatal incidents include vehicle-related accidents and incidents involving machinery and livestock. At the start of September, Westmeath-based Irish Rural Link, who represent community organisations nationwide, announced the launch of a new farm safety initiative focused on combating labour and isolation concerns on Irish farms.
The Farm Safety Community Champion programme will equip rural areas with a representative to act as a champion for farmer safety and wellbeing.
Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, this initiative comes as a result of the growing decline of local farming networks in Ireland, resulting in a lack of social connection and workforce shortages.
By offering rural people an opportunity to reach out and provide support, this project will help ensure that the safety and wellbeing of the farming community remains a priority.
Seamus Boland, CEO of Irish Rural Link, emphasises that this programme is an opportunity to strengthen communities. “The need for community has never been so important for farmers. With fluctuations in the market, inconsistent weather, and growing isolation, having the Farm Safety Community Champions will help build our farming networks for a more connected rural society. We hope to see local communities take this as an opportunity to support, strengthen, and sustain relationships with and between farmers for a more inclusive future.”
The programme is putting farm safety and wellbeing at the heart of rural communities by training nine local farm safety champions from Wexford, two from Galway, Tipperary, Kerry, Waterford, Mayo, Monaghan and Kildare. They all share the same goal – making farms safer and strengthening connections in their regions.
Once trained, each champion will head out into their communities to spark conversations, whether that’s at the local mart, the community hall, or other gathering spots. They will be sharing practical advice, personal stories, and resources that encourage both safety on the farm and stronger social ties.
To make sure they have the right tools, a dedicated manual has been created to support their talks and provide extra resources for anyone who wants to get involved, learn more, or take steps to support farmers in their own area.
Irish Rural Link is calling on rural communities to organise a ‘Farmer’s Haggart’ group similar to the traditional meitheal as part of this programme. Led by a local Farm Safety Community Champion, it will encourage farmers to assist one another in simple tasks on the farm.
Robert Lally, Claremorris, Co Mayo.
Robert Lally, Claremorris,
Co Mayo
Robert’s farming expertise lies in various areas such as food production, farm management, and farm consulting. This background has given him a variety of interesting experiences in both rural and urban areas. He is heavily involved in Macra and is the former northwest vice president.
“I had given a talk for the Irish Rural Link during my time as vice president of Macra, and the stars aligned. I had just finished my tenure and received a phone call asking if I would come on board as one of the ambassadors. I said, absolutely – it’s a very relevant topic, and one very close to my own heart.
“We’re tasked to go to agricultural shows, school visits, and then there’s a good nugget, the Farmers Haggart, to combat rural social isolation which is huge.
“It’s a culture change that we’re trying to achieve. But it’s very achievable.
“Farming can be unbelievably lonely for those who have the smaller farms.
“Once upon a time, you could go over and ask someone for a hand, be it fixing a skylight or doing a dangerous job.
“Anything ladder-related or from a height, you should never do by yourself.
“That’s why the Farmers Haggart is so important.
“We hope to achieve this in our nine communities with the hopes of rolling it out into more.
“It’s a social thing, just as much as anything else. So, people come, they’ll have their cup of tea, cup of coffee to create that bond.
“The biggest thing is to cut down the risk that people take – particularly the dangerous tasks on the farm that shouldn’t be done on your own.
“It’s important to feel it’s okay, appropriate and worthwhile to reach out to neighbours or one of the members of the farmers haggarts, that you can turn around and ask for help.
“It goes full circle as they’ll receive help themselves, if they’re loading an animal or need a hand.”
Niamh Monahan, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.
Niamh Monahan, Innishkeen,
Co Monaghan
Niamh is a primary school teacher and part-time farmer with her father, Eamonn. After a dog attack on a flock of pedigree sheep on her family farm in January, she and her family decided to advocate for sheep farmers all over Ireland, using their platform to raise awareness, campaign for stronger dog controls and support for sheep farmers facing similar challenges.
“It was our fourth dog attack in five years. We lost all our ewes and lambs, and then we lost the pedigree ram as well in that attack.
“Every time it happened, it was the mentality of, like most farmers, pick yourselves up and get on with it. I just said to Dad, we need to talk about this. Because it really did affect us all, as a family. I put up a post on Facebook to make people aware that it had happened to us.
“I did a farm safety module as part of my distant learning course [Green Cert]; I was looking at it from a teacher perspective, and said this is something kids in school should be doing.
“Myself and Aisling Kelly – another one of the champions – we decided to organise a farm safety day in our school. We had paramedics, we had gardaí, a local farmer came in and gave us some farm safety tips and he brought his tractor. We also had the fire brigade, and Alma from Agri Kids, did a lesson with each class group.
“I was so thrilled to have been asked to take part in this programme, you could say a dream come true, because it’s combining everything that I do. I absolutely love farming, but I love education and teaching too.
For her, it’s about creating that sense of community among farmers. “That resonates with me so much more now because of our dog attack. We had so many farmers from the local community who called into the yard and asked if we needed anything. That’s the stuff you really remember and appreciate.”
Find your local Farm Safety Community Champion on farmers4safety.ie.
As of last month, there have been 12 farm fatalities in Ireland this year, matching the total for all of 2024. This means farms are statistically the most dangerous workplace. The primary causes of these fatal incidents include vehicle-related accidents and incidents involving machinery and livestock. At the start of September, Westmeath-based Irish Rural Link, who represent community organisations nationwide, announced the launch of a new farm safety initiative focused on combating labour and isolation concerns on Irish farms.
The Farm Safety Community Champion programme will equip rural areas with a representative to act as a champion for farmer safety and wellbeing.
Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, this initiative comes as a result of the growing decline of local farming networks in Ireland, resulting in a lack of social connection and workforce shortages.
By offering rural people an opportunity to reach out and provide support, this project will help ensure that the safety and wellbeing of the farming community remains a priority.
Seamus Boland, CEO of Irish Rural Link, emphasises that this programme is an opportunity to strengthen communities. “The need for community has never been so important for farmers. With fluctuations in the market, inconsistent weather, and growing isolation, having the Farm Safety Community Champions will help build our farming networks for a more connected rural society. We hope to see local communities take this as an opportunity to support, strengthen, and sustain relationships with and between farmers for a more inclusive future.”
The programme is putting farm safety and wellbeing at the heart of rural communities by training nine local farm safety champions from Wexford, two from Galway, Tipperary, Kerry, Waterford, Mayo, Monaghan and Kildare. They all share the same goal – making farms safer and strengthening connections in their regions.
Once trained, each champion will head out into their communities to spark conversations, whether that’s at the local mart, the community hall, or other gathering spots. They will be sharing practical advice, personal stories, and resources that encourage both safety on the farm and stronger social ties.
To make sure they have the right tools, a dedicated manual has been created to support their talks and provide extra resources for anyone who wants to get involved, learn more, or take steps to support farmers in their own area.
Irish Rural Link is calling on rural communities to organise a ‘Farmer’s Haggart’ group similar to the traditional meitheal as part of this programme. Led by a local Farm Safety Community Champion, it will encourage farmers to assist one another in simple tasks on the farm.
Robert Lally, Claremorris, Co Mayo.
Robert Lally, Claremorris,
Co Mayo
Robert’s farming expertise lies in various areas such as food production, farm management, and farm consulting. This background has given him a variety of interesting experiences in both rural and urban areas. He is heavily involved in Macra and is the former northwest vice president.
“I had given a talk for the Irish Rural Link during my time as vice president of Macra, and the stars aligned. I had just finished my tenure and received a phone call asking if I would come on board as one of the ambassadors. I said, absolutely – it’s a very relevant topic, and one very close to my own heart.
“We’re tasked to go to agricultural shows, school visits, and then there’s a good nugget, the Farmers Haggart, to combat rural social isolation which is huge.
“It’s a culture change that we’re trying to achieve. But it’s very achievable.
“Farming can be unbelievably lonely for those who have the smaller farms.
“Once upon a time, you could go over and ask someone for a hand, be it fixing a skylight or doing a dangerous job.
“Anything ladder-related or from a height, you should never do by yourself.
“That’s why the Farmers Haggart is so important.
“We hope to achieve this in our nine communities with the hopes of rolling it out into more.
“It’s a social thing, just as much as anything else. So, people come, they’ll have their cup of tea, cup of coffee to create that bond.
“The biggest thing is to cut down the risk that people take – particularly the dangerous tasks on the farm that shouldn’t be done on your own.
“It’s important to feel it’s okay, appropriate and worthwhile to reach out to neighbours or one of the members of the farmers haggarts, that you can turn around and ask for help.
“It goes full circle as they’ll receive help themselves, if they’re loading an animal or need a hand.”
Niamh Monahan, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.
Niamh Monahan, Innishkeen,
Co Monaghan
Niamh is a primary school teacher and part-time farmer with her father, Eamonn. After a dog attack on a flock of pedigree sheep on her family farm in January, she and her family decided to advocate for sheep farmers all over Ireland, using their platform to raise awareness, campaign for stronger dog controls and support for sheep farmers facing similar challenges.
“It was our fourth dog attack in five years. We lost all our ewes and lambs, and then we lost the pedigree ram as well in that attack.
“Every time it happened, it was the mentality of, like most farmers, pick yourselves up and get on with it. I just said to Dad, we need to talk about this. Because it really did affect us all, as a family. I put up a post on Facebook to make people aware that it had happened to us.
“I did a farm safety module as part of my distant learning course [Green Cert]; I was looking at it from a teacher perspective, and said this is something kids in school should be doing.
“Myself and Aisling Kelly – another one of the champions – we decided to organise a farm safety day in our school. We had paramedics, we had gardaí, a local farmer came in and gave us some farm safety tips and he brought his tractor. We also had the fire brigade, and Alma from Agri Kids, did a lesson with each class group.
“I was so thrilled to have been asked to take part in this programme, you could say a dream come true, because it’s combining everything that I do. I absolutely love farming, but I love education and teaching too.
For her, it’s about creating that sense of community among farmers. “That resonates with me so much more now because of our dog attack. We had so many farmers from the local community who called into the yard and asked if we needed anything. That’s the stuff you really remember and appreciate.”
Find your local Farm Safety Community Champion on farmers4safety.ie.
SHARING OPTIONS