Jack’s the lad as council honours young inventor

MUNICIPAL DISTRICT AWARD FOR KILLORGLIN PUPIL

HIS impressive inventions marked him out as a young man already realising great potential, and on Friday, Kerry County Council invited Killorglin Community College student Jack Nagle to council buildings in Killorglin to acknowledge another brilliant year for the Junior Cert student.

Jack and his friend Eoghan McKenna had already made a name for themselves in 2016 with a medical cot elevated at an angle suitable for children with problems such as reflux, head-colds and sinus troubles. But for all that invention’s success, his Tractor Safe Lock, which activates the handbrake once a driver leaves their seat, has hoovered up awards this year, and on Friday he was honoured at an annual award ceremony for his achievements.

On Friday, South and West Kerry Cathaoirleach, Councillor Seamus Mac Gearailt, welcomed Jack, as well as the 15-year-old’s proud relations, including parents Brian and Irene; siblings Ryan, Gearóid and Chloe; and grandparents Eileen and Patrick. Jack was also joined by fellow pupils, Killorglin Community College Principal Con Moynihan, and no shortage of well-wishers.

Jack devised the invention after an incident in which his grandfather, Patrick, was injured, becoming trapped when a tractor rolled back on him as he was attaching an implement. His commitment to the idea never wavered, and he’s now in the process of patenting his design in the hope of getting ‘Tractor Safe Lock’ to market.

“The accident happened when I was about eight, and I’d always thought about doing something,” Jack told The Kerryman this week. “Ahead of this year’s BT Young Scientist exhibition I researched the idea further, and I knew something needed to be done.”

Since then, Jack has achieved astonishing success, picking up a collection of prizes at events such as the National Ploughing Championship and the Young Scientist exhibition. Recently he represented Kerry in the finals of SciFest, where he picked up both an “Excellence in STEM” prize and a “10th Anniversary Award”, but he has no notion of resting on his laurels.

“My name was put forward for Friday’s award by Michael Cahill and the councillors let me know about two weeks ago that I’d be getting a prize,” Jack added. “I definitely want to get it on the market now and after I’ve my exams out of the way I want to enter the BT Young Scientist Exhibition again and get back inventing.”

Front row (left to right): Back Row Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin Daniel Downes, Alfie Barret, Ryan Nagle, Ben Downes, Holly Barret, Patrick O’Sullivan , Jack Nagle & Irene Nagle. Caoimhe Brosnan, Janelle O’Sullivan, Tyler O’Sullivan, Natasha Myers, Lauren Vickers, Chloe Nagle, Emma O’Sullivan, Gearòid Nagle, Sinead...

LEFT: Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin BELOW: Jack Nagle with his Tractor Safe Lock and his grandparents Patrick and Eileen O’Sullivan Beaufort at The Library, Killorglin on Friday where Jack was honoured by representatives from Kerry County Council’s South West Municipal Area. Councillors Norma...