Two primary school teachers in Co Monaghan have made it their mission to improve understanding around farm safety among their students.
Niamh Monahan and Aisling Kelly, teachers at St Daigh’s National School in Inniskeen, organised a farm safety day at the school with the help of AgriKids, local gardaí and paramedics.
Pupils from junior infants to sixth class, including autism classes and moderate learning disability students, were given demonstrations on first aid and, health and safety in urban, rural and farming situations.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Monahan said that these are important lessons that every child in the country should learn.
“We’d love to see something like this run across all schools in Ireland, because no matter what background you come from, at some stage in their life, they are going to be on a farm or involved in an accident or needing first aid.”
“It was nice to see the kids that maybe normally wouldn’t partake in things in school, academic-wise, that were so engaged because they love farming and being out and about. It was great to see all children involved today,” Niamh Monahan said. / Niamh Monahan
Kelly added: “Myself and Niamh, we both grew up on farms and are part-time farmers ourselves and found that if we had known this sort of first aid, we could have stopped so many accidents from happening. We’re both very aware of it.
“Even the children that aren’t from farms, this could translate to helping somebody on the street or in a shopping centre.
"A lot of these children would be going for walks on the weekends or visiting friends’ farms. They need to know what to do if something catastrophic happens because it could save a life.”
“They really loved the farm talk with PJ Fitzsimons; it was very hands on and visual. He did a really good demonstration about the dangers of the PTO shaft. They did a demonstration where they filled up a hazmat suit with straw, attached it to a PTO and saw it be completely sucked into PTO and ripped apart. That had a shock factor and was really visual for them,” Kelly said. / Niamh Monahan
“The fact it was so hands-on, they were all so engaged. I think we’ve never seen children so engaged in something in their lives. They loved it, it was very active and very fun,” Aisling Kelly said. / Niamh Monahan
“We’re really trying to get across to the kids that the farm is not a playground. It’s a great life growing up on a farm but they need to be aware of the dangers involved,” Aisling Kelly said. / Niamh Monahan
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Two primary school teachers in Co Monaghan have made it their mission to improve understanding around farm safety among their students.
Niamh Monahan and Aisling Kelly, teachers at St Daigh’s National School in Inniskeen, organised a farm safety day at the school with the help of AgriKids, local gardaí and paramedics.
Pupils from junior infants to sixth class, including autism classes and moderate learning disability students, were given demonstrations on first aid and, health and safety in urban, rural and farming situations.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Monahan said that these are important lessons that every child in the country should learn.
“We’d love to see something like this run across all schools in Ireland, because no matter what background you come from, at some stage in their life, they are going to be on a farm or involved in an accident or needing first aid.”
“It was nice to see the kids that maybe normally wouldn’t partake in things in school, academic-wise, that were so engaged because they love farming and being out and about. It was great to see all children involved today,” Niamh Monahan said. / Niamh Monahan
Kelly added: “Myself and Niamh, we both grew up on farms and are part-time farmers ourselves and found that if we had known this sort of first aid, we could have stopped so many accidents from happening. We’re both very aware of it.
“Even the children that aren’t from farms, this could translate to helping somebody on the street or in a shopping centre.
"A lot of these children would be going for walks on the weekends or visiting friends’ farms. They need to know what to do if something catastrophic happens because it could save a life.”
“They really loved the farm talk with PJ Fitzsimons; it was very hands on and visual. He did a really good demonstration about the dangers of the PTO shaft. They did a demonstration where they filled up a hazmat suit with straw, attached it to a PTO and saw it be completely sucked into PTO and ripped apart. That had a shock factor and was really visual for them,” Kelly said. / Niamh Monahan
“The fact it was so hands-on, they were all so engaged. I think we’ve never seen children so engaged in something in their lives. They loved it, it was very active and very fun,” Aisling Kelly said. / Niamh Monahan
“We’re really trying to get across to the kids that the farm is not a playground. It’s a great life growing up on a farm but they need to be aware of the dangers involved,” Aisling Kelly said. / Niamh Monahan
Read more
Machinery operators ‘need to be conscious of other road users’ – Healy-Rae
‘Every farm fatality is a tragedy’ - Minister Healy-Rae
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