When mother of two Deirdre Mulcahy bought an electric shaver for her husband during lockdown she never imagined he would end up shaving her head on Facebook Live in order to raise funds for Marymount Hospice in Cork city.
Deirdre has raised over €10,000 in a week after she and her friends came up with the idea following a Zoom call.
They had been brainstorming fund raising ideas for Marymount as the father of a friend received excellent palliative care there prior to his death in February.
Deirdre, who lives in Blarney, says that she is both nervous and excited about the head shaving today.
"We looked up head shaving videos on Youtube and it takes a while. I thought to make it dramatic we could just do it straight down the centre but it gets tangled and stuff so we will have to do pig tails, cut it with a scissors and then shave it.
"So it is a bit of a process.
"I have been doing my husband David’s hair since lockdown but it never crossed his mind that he would be doing mine. I may have done his with a glass of wine but it worked out fine !
"I was looking at my hair during lockdown and I thought if I shave it off that will solve two things. Both the roots and fundraising !"
Doing a Britney and shaving her head doesn't come naturally to Deirdre as she is a private person.
She thinks her fundraising is helped by the fact that friends and family are so shocked by her unexpected move.
People are donating more because she was the last person anyone imagined would do it.
Her main concern is how her young children will react.
"I will have to buy a few hats and scarves. I have been trying to explain to my three year old Thomas.
"He won't let me cut his hair. He wants to grow his hair down to his shoulders. I have been telling him my hair is going to be shorter. And then I have Hannah who is one and she won't understand. I hope she doesn't get a fright and knows me."
Deirdre (34) says the fundraising drive has been a "brilliant distraction" for her and the family at this time of immense sadness in the country.
"No one is going out or doing anything so this is a real focus for us. My friend's father died in February.
"They were lucky in a way that it happened before the lockdown because they were able to spend the whole week with him in Marymount. Marymount are amazing."
Deirdre has never had short hair. She has dyed her hair lots of colours over the years and has regretted many of them. However, this will be one cut that will live long in the memory.
"My husband thinks we are going to save a fortune because I get it done every six weeks. My friend was joking that hairdressers are saying not to get box dyes and I will be going in after lockdown with a shaved head !
People are shocked I am doing it. They know I love my hair. I am private on Facebook and stuff so this is big for me. But its a bit of excitement for us !"
Donations can be made to the Go Fund me page.
