TWO West Cork students have designed a safer alternative to manhole covers in a slated slurry tank which they say is animal, child and adult proof.

Riordan O’Driscoll (18) from Coppeen and Jack O’Donoghue (17), students at De La Salle College, Macroom, created the aluminium cover as their entry for the recent 2026 Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (YSTE), where they received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Fifth year student Riordan explains how they were motivated by an experience he had on his farm.

‘We were at slurry and the manhole cover was fully open and a calf actually fell in,’ he recalls.

‘Luckily there was only around two foot of slurry left in the tank at the time, but myself and my father had to go fishing for the calf to rescue him, which wasn’t ideal,’ he said.

The ongoing threat of similar accidents and possible farm fatalities taking place, prompted them to design and create their innovative manhole cover.

The pair made initial prototypes from wood before producing the aluminium cover which, unlike individual slats currently in use in farms, lifts up on one single piece, in much the same way a car bonnet would.

‘There’s also a built-in safety cage which stays in place when the cover is lifted, and protects workers from falls around deep openings like slurry pits or tanks,’ explains Jack. Riordan added that the pair hope this design can help reduce the number of accidents around slurry tanks.

‘In the future, we’d like to develop more versions using different materials and possibly add features like warning sensors or improved grips for wet conditions.’

The pair intend to enter their project in SciFest, which takes place in Tralee later this year.

William Murray with Deputy Aindrias Moynihan at the RDS in Dublin.

SHRINK IN CATTLE

Meanwhile, fellow De La Salle Macroom student William Murray (16) from Inchigeelagh was also prompted by his on-farm observations when it came to his YSTE project entitled  ‘Shrink in cattle transport and how it can best be minimised.’

‘Shrink in cattle transport is the weight loss that cattle experience when being transported from one place to another. With recent cattle prices, that weight loss can result in up to €100 loss per animal to the farmer. The transportation and unfamiliar places also causes a lot of stress for the animal’ said William.

The prototype for a safer slurry tank cover.

‘Most farmers are aware of this pressing issue but they have not yet quantified it as there has been little research done on shrink to date.’

For his project he took groups of cattle on two 45 minute trips in the cattle trailer to simulate their usual trip from his farm to the local mart; one trip was with the trailer’s vents open and the other with them closed. In each case, the bullocks were weighed beforehand.

He had expected that the outdoor bullocks animals who travelled with the vents open would lose less weight due to better airflow however, surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.

‘With the vents closed the bullocks lost an average of 6kg over the 45mins, compared to those with the vents open losing an average of 9kg over the same time,’ he said.

‘I can recommend that cattle transportation with the vents closed is best for limiting shrink as it will limit the weight loss for the bullocks, but may sacrifice their comfort on a warm day.’

A third project submitted from the college, by Peter King and Michael Kelleher, examined weather water weakened the UV protection offered by clothing. An interview with the pair is carried on page 33 of this week’s paper.

YSTE coordinator and teacher Shannon Walsh said that out of 11 entries, the school had three projects accepted ‘which we were very proud of’.

This was just the third year the De La Salle students had entered the prestigious competition, and they were praised for their hard work and innovation.