HAIR TODAY: Peter Herlihy's long hair will soon get the chop to help sick children.

A 12-year-old schoolboy is so keen to help others that he has grown his hair especially for sick kids.

Coolick National School pupil Peter Herlihy spent the last two years growing out his hair and when the time came to give it a cut, he started thinking about ways he could combine losing the locks and helping people.

On the advice of his mother, Aislinn, Peter did some research online and found The Little Princess Trust which provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions. It also funds research into the long-term effects of medications used to treat childhood cancer and illnesses.

A number of Peter's family have already battled cancer and he also noticed how his five-year-old sister Jemma loved to comb and style her hair - and thought how upsetting it must be to lose your hair at that age. One of his interests is microbiology, and Peter loved how the medical research work the charity played.

He also discovered that the cost of one wig is £550 and Peter wanted to fundraise to cover the costs, as well as donating 12 inches of his hair which he will cut in three weeks time at Sean Taaffe Hair & Beauty in Killarney. Peter set up a GoFundMe page and starting to contact family and friends to get him started.

Peter collected €1,200 in three days and is now headed for the €2000 mark - covering the cost of three real-hair wigs from The Little Princess Trust.

Naturally, he's delighted.
"I'd just like to thank every single person who donated to my fundraiser," he said. "People have been so generous and kind. It's brilliant."

Donations can still be made by Debit, Credit Card or Apple Pay on the GoFundMe page: Peter's Fundraiser for The Little Princess Trust.