News
Double chop for Kilcummin sisters!
CHARITY CUT: Sisters Nicole and Katelyn Williams, pictured with their aunt Siobhan Reen (Jack & Jill Liaison Nurse Kerry), plan to cut their hair for the Rapunzel Foundation while raising funds for Jack & Jill. Photo: Michelle Crean
EXCLUSIVE
By Michelle Crean
It's not a case of 'Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves' as the '80s song goes - but rather sisters helping sick children as two Kilcummin girls are planning to get the chop for two charities.
Sisters Nicole (18) and 11-year-old Katelyn Williams were inspired by their aunt Siobhan Reen, a Jack & Jill Liaison Nurse for the Kerry area, after hearing that the Jack & Jill Foundation is suffering from substantial funding losses this year.
The girls, granddaughters of well-known local motor dealer John Reen in Rathmore, put a plan of action together and decided not only to chop their long locks for one charity but to help a second by donating the hair afterwards to the Rapunzel Foundation, a charity that makes wigs for sick children.
On Monday they set up a GoFundMe page and have so far raised over €800. They plan to raise €100 for every inch cut. When they hit their target they will then book a hairdresser for the much anticipated cuts!
The €3,200 raised will provide 200 hours of nursing care for children supported by the Jack & Jill, a nationwide charity which provides in home nursing support for children with significant neurological deficits and provides end of life care to all children up to the age of five, Siobhan explained.
"I'm very proud of the two girls," Siobhan told the Killarney Advertiser.
"It means so much to the families. Funding is down €200,000 for Jack & Jill this year. That's a huge deficit that needs to be made up as there's no big company fundraising events. It's the individuals and communities that are helping us out. Every €16 is an hour of in home nursing care which helps to give parents a much needed break."
To make a donation go to GoFundMe: Inches for Hours.
Gneeveguilla apprentice wins national stonemasonry title
Darragh O’Sullivan from Gneeveguilla won the overall prize in the Architectural Stonemasonry category at the WorldSkills Ireland competition held recently at the RDS in Dublin.
An apprentice stonecutter and stonemason with the Office of Public Works (OPW) based in Mallow, O’Sullivan secured gold for his technical accuracy and craftsmanship during the three-day event.
The state agency relies on traditional trade skills to manage, conserve, and restore national monuments, public buildings, and heritage sites across the country.
O’Sullivan’s success reflects the training provided by his OPW mentors and team, highlighting the importance of apprentice development in preserving traditional heritage crafts for future generations.
Picture Caption: CRAFT CHAMPION: Tom Little (Kerry ETB), Terri Sweeney Meade (OPW), category winner Darragh O’Sullivan (OPW), and Donal Keys (WorldSkills Ireland) at the RDS in Dublin.
Jessica Cronin donates hair for children’s charity
Ten-year-old Killarney resident Jessica Cronin is set to cut and donate 12 inches of her hair to support young cancer patients, alongside a fundraising campaign for LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.
The hair donation will go directly to the Little Princess Trust, a charity providing real hair wigs free of charge to children and young people who have lost their own hair through medical treatment.
Alongside her hair donation, Jessica is collecting financial contributions for LauraLynn through the Locks of Love campaign.
“I want to help somebody that doesn’t have something that I have, hair,” Jessica said.
Her family expressed their pride in her decision to support both organisations.
“We are all so proud of her,” her mother, Grace O’Shea-Cronin, said. “Any donation, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated.”
Donations to support Jessica’s fundraiser can be made online at
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