29 February 2020
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Cork County Council has launched a book entitled ‘Sally & Jake – Think Road Safety’, providing primary school children in 2nd to 5th class a new way to learn about the importance of Road Safety. The book has been written and produced by Cork County Council’s Water & Road Safety Development Officer Caroline Casey, whose work in safety awareness has garnered two RSA Leading Light awards.
Community Garda Conor Gatley from Fermoy who gave a safety take to pupils as Cork County Council Release Road Safety Book for Children at Tir na Si in Watergrasshill. With Garda are pupils Gearoid Twohig and Cathal McCarthy from Ballyvongane NS.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
Community Garda Conor Gatley from Fermoy who gave a safety take to pupils as Cork County Council Release Road Safety Book for Children at Tir na Si in Watergrasshill. With Garda are pupils Gearoid Twohig and Cathal McCarthy from Ballyvongane NS.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
Pictured are Eimear Doyle (centre and her daughter Saoirse, on her right) at the launch of the Road Safety Book for Children “Sally and Jake – Think Road Safety” dedicated to the memory of her son Fionn, aged 7, who passed away after a long battle with leukaemia. Fionn was an “Honorary Garda” who loved wearing his uniform.
Also included are Cllr. Deirdre O’Brien, deputising for the Mayor of the County of Cork Caroline Casey, Water & Road Safety Development Officer, Cork Co Co. who wrote the book.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
Within its 18 colourful pages Sally and Jake teach road safety with the help of Mum, Garda Nell, and Dazzle the Unicorn. The tips, information, poems and songs provide helpful advice to readers of all ages and each chapter ends with a worksheet to help readers remember what they’ve learned.
The book will now form part of the Resource Pack which Cork County Council provides for schools who participate in the Safety Flag Program. The pack contains Story Books, Board Games, Songs, Activity Books, and a Safety Presentation. These resources foster student led learning in which young people of all ages take the lead in learning and teaching road safety in their homes and schools.
Commenting on the new book, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Ian Doyle said
“The last number of weeks have seen several serious and fatal accidents on our roads, which further reinforces the importance of educating our young people on safe road use. Teaching our children how act responsibly and safely on our roads at an early age is vital to ensure the next generation are equipped to make safe choices.”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey welcomed the book
“Cork County Council has proven to be a leader in Road Safety initiatives, exemplified by the recent national roll out of the ‘Your Life – Your Choice’ Programme which promotes road safety amongst younger motorists, through the use of Virtual Reality headsets. Cork County Council also led the introduction of the Safety Awareness Flag Programme, which coupled with the various workshops organised by our Road Safety Office provides young people in County Cork with the tools to become a generation of safer road users.”
Mayor Doyle went on to say
“I am delighted to see another fun, clever and innovative resource available for teachers, parents and young people to promote road safety in schools and communities. I would also like to acknowledge the family of Fionn Doyle to whom this book is dedicated.”
Fionn Doyle fought a brave courageous battle against Leukaemia for almost 6 years, before sadly passing away at age 7 in January 2019.
Attending the launch, Fionn’s mother Eimear Doyle said
“He was a very happy chatty little man who no matter how hard things got; he always had a smile on his face. He was thrilled when he became an honorary guard; he loved to wear the uniform. Fionn would be so proud to see this book dedicated to him, and all the other heroes who fought so hard but sadly didn’t make it, with a picture of him inside at his happiest in that uniform.”
For more information, contact Cork County Council’s Safety Department on 021-4276891.
