See how one young Irish priest is keeping in touch with his flock

A young priest from Mullingar parish has been out meeting local farmers recently, on a pretty unique mission

Fr Robert McGivney was visiting a farming family in his parish recently when they decided to bless the new born lambs on the farm.

The priest has a farming background himself and says that farming is a very important sector in his parish.

“The people I deal with on a daily basis are taking about calving and lambing. It’s coming up to a busy time of the year for farmers and it’s important to be out with them.

"I became friendly with the Fagan family following a family bereavement and I’ve been out to visit a number of times. They're lovely people."

"On my most recent visit we decided a blessing ceremony for the lambs and the farm would be a nice."

"It’s a busy time of the year for farmers and it’s important the church recognises the vital work that farmers do. We need to be present in the community.

The Pope recently said priests should be like shepherds living with the smell of sheep."

"While he probably didn’t mean for us to take this literally, it's an important message priests must take on board," he said. "Religion is not something abstract - it's real life."