Donegal’s players will be spreading a farm safety message when they take on Tyrone in their opening match in the Ulster Senior Football Championship next week.
For one game only, the players will wear a jersey which replaces their sponsor’s logo with a ‘Stay Safe on The Farm’ message.
The match, taking place in Ballybofey on Sunday, May 17th, will be the first time a GAA team wears jerseys with a farm safety message.
The initiative has come from Aurivo, which sponsors the team through its Donegal Creameries brand.
It will also support FBD’s farm safety campaign by including its “Champions for Change” logo on the back of the jersey. That campaign calls on agri-organisations and farmers to become a champion for change in making farms safer.
Last year Donegal has the second highest rate of farm fatalities in the country, after Cork. Of the 30 people killed in incidents on farms last year, four came from Donegal. All were male, and aged over 50.
Two neighbours in their early 50s were killed last November when a tyre exploded. An 84-year-old man was crushed by an animal last May while a 78-year-old man was crushed by machinery in April.
Donegal GAA chairman Seán Dunnion said it was “a fantastic opportunity to promote safety in the farming community in our county” and the GAA players were very happy to deliver the farm safety message.
Aurivo chief executive Aaron Forde said one death on a farm was one too many.
“It is our job as a large dairy co-operative to ensure that we raise the awareness of the importance of farm safety amongst our milk suppliers because 58 per cent of fatal farm accidents happen on dairy farms,” he said.
“We are confident that the strong farm safety messages on the Donegal GAA jersey will help to highlight the importance of farm safety across the county to those watching the game in the stadium and at home.”
