Cork student shaves his head for Marymount

A CORK Leaving Certificate student has shaved his head in a bid to raise funds for Marymount Hospice.

Last month, 18-year-old John O’Connell decided to set up an online fundraiser in the hopes of raising money for a worthy cause.

On Friday, John took the plunge and shaved his entire head of hair for the cause, with more than €3,270 raised through the online fundraiser.

He had been growing his hair for over a year and a haircut was “long overdue”, he said.

Speaking to The Echo on the launch of the fundraiser, the Bruce College student said that he had been growing his hair for a year and had not had it cut since the initial Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

As part of the fundraiser, John decided to shave his very full head of hair, with all funds raised in the lead-up going to the hospice.

“I’ve just been growing my hair for so long…I said I would throw it up on GoFundMe to see if I could get any donations or any support and I just said I would shave my head to raise awareness and get more sponsors for it.”

He said that he had only initially hoped to raise between €200 and €500 with the fundraiser. However, in just a matter of hours, he had received €1,500 in donations.

“I raised €1,500 straight away in five or six hours. It was mad.”

He said that he was inspired to raise money for Marymount after seeing the “support and help that they give to their patients” when they cared for a family member.

John thanked all of those who have donated to the cause so far.

“I’d just like to thank everyone who has helped me with fundraising, and I would like to thank everyone for the support they have given me throughout my fundraiser,” he added.