Road safety book for children dedicated to little boy who lost his fight with leukemia

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.

A brave little boy who touched hearts around the country before his untimely death last year would be so proud to see a new road safety book for children dedicated to him, his mum says.

Fionn Doyle’s mum, Eimear, was speaking at the launch of Cork County Council’s new Sally & Jake — Think Road Safety book in Cork yesterday.

Fionn, aged seven, from Kildorrery, died at home surrounded by his loving family on January 1, 2019, just seven months after his parents were told his leukemia was terminal.

In August 2018, they threw him the best birthday party ever and following a special appeal, Fionn was swamped with thousands of cards and well-wishes. They were delivered under armed garda escort with support from the fire service.

And thanks to the Little Blue Heroes charity established by gardaí, Fionn was made an honorary garda for the day and even got his own garda uniform.

Yesterday, Eimear said he would be so proud to see the new road safety book dedicated to him: “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.”

‘Sally & Jake — Think Road Safety, was produced by Cork County Council’s Water and Road Safety Development Officer, Caroline Casey, whose work in safety awareness has led to two RSA Leading Light awards.

It has been designed specially for primary school children in second to fifth class and provides a fun new way to learn about the importance of road safety.

Over 18 colourful pages, Sally and Jake teach road safety with the help of mum, Garda Nell, and Dazzle the unicorn through tips, information, poems and songs. 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 the council provides to schools who participate in the Safety Flag Program. The pack contains story books, board games, songs, activity books and a safety presentation.

Ms Casey said these resources foster student-led learning, where the children take the lead in learning and teaching road safety in their homes and schools.

County Mayor, Cllr Ian Doyle, said there have been a number of serious and fatal accidents on our roads in recent weeks which further reinforces the importance of educating young people on safe road use:

“Teaching our children how to act responsibly and safely on our roads at an early age is vital to ensure the next generation are equipped to make safe choices.”

Council chief executive, Tim Lucey, said the council has taken a lead in road safety initiatives, including the national roll-out of a road safety programme for younger motorists which uses virtual reality headsets.