Brotherly love prompts Craig’s close shave

Fifteen-year-old Craig McGill has raised €700 for the Irish Cancer Society but he is hoping to make it to the €1,000 mark within the next two weeks.
From his mother’s café in the Market Hall, the Gort teenager made the short walk next door to Gruaig Deas on Saturday. His reflection in the window of the salon showed a young man, tall, taller than his mother, sporting medium-length dark blonde hair.
A short time later he re-emerged beaming, and undoubtedly bald, from the salon. The fourth-year Gort Community School student had his head shaved as part of the nationwide Today FM Shave or Dye campaign.
“A lot of people were shocked that it was all gone,” Craig told The Clare Champion. “Two other people in school did it and they got a number one or zero, which is very short. But when I got it done, I got rid of it all,” he explained.
Like everyone else, Craig sometimes gets a shock himself with the loss of his hair, most notably when he gets up.
“It is a bit cold in the mornings so that would take a bit of getting used to if I was to keep it like this. I will let it grow back but it could be about two or three weeks,” he outlined.
Craig’s motivation for taking part in the annual charity drive to benefit the Irish Cancer Society could hardly be stronger.
“My brother Paul recently had a form of cancer and he has just been cured from it. He is in the middle of getting the all-clear.
“That definitely opened my eyes to cancer and this is something I plan to do every year from now on,” he revealed.
Paul is 17 and an apprentice mechanic. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in October 2010. His treatment finished last April.
“My brother and I are fairly close. He is very supportive of me doing this. He wanted to do it this year himself but he couldn’t do it,” explained Craig.
“This is something I would really recommend to others. It feels great when you are helping people.
“My dad said he would like to do it next year, he couldn’t do it with me this year because of work but he will definitely be doing it next year,” he added.
Anyone wishing to sponsor Craig can drop any donations into Lesley’s Café in the Market Hall, Gort.
“I am sitting at the €700 mark at the moment but I really want to get to €1,000. It would be great to send that much in. The money is going to the Irish Cancer Society and that is a great cause,” he concluded.