Huge interest in first ever tractor safety course for teenagers

A TRACTOR safety course for teenagers was held for the first time ever at Limerick Show this year, run by current NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Award winner, John Macnamara from Knockainey.

Mr Macnamara said he was “delighted” the organisers invited him to teach the course. “It shows that they believe in farm safety as well and we thanked them for their sponsorship of it as well and helping us along the way.”

He added that it was great for the public to see the importance of farm safety. The idea for the course is the brainchild of two neighbours in Knockainey, Mr Macnamara and Richard O'Regan. It was designed to be both practical and engaging, and those who undertook the course received a certificate upon completion.

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Mr Macnamara explained: “We both had young children at the tractor driving age twelve months ago and I suppose we felt the importance of actually having a course out there that was suitable to young children and suitable that people would learn from.”

They can cater to ten young people on the course which is run over a two-hour period and the students move from station to station. “You have two people with the garda, two with the mechanic, two with the tractor operator, and two watching the videos and then you move on. It has worked really well,” stated Mr Macnamara.

This was their fifth course and they trained 30 students last year. “It's going from strength to strength,” Mr Macnamara concluded.