Young Derry girl makes the kindest cut for cancer charity

A kind-hearted young Derry girl who lost a number of relatives to cancer has donated her hair to charity after a two-year ‘grow-a-thon’ which saw her locks reach well past her waist.

Bronagh McGilloway, 11, has had her locks cut by her mother Oonagh, and her hair will now be sent to the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland that have lost their own hair through cancer treatment.

Oonagh said Bronagh (pictured), a pupil at St Patrick’s Primary School, Pennyburn, had wanted to something for those affected by cancer given the impact it has had on her own family.

“Bronagh has lost so many relatives to cancer over the last ten years, her granda Joe, aunty Siobhan, her uncle Bobby and aunt Josie, as well as Lizzie Strain (McGarrigle) last year,” Oonagh said.

“She is a very good hearted girl and wanted to do something to help cancer patients, so she decided to grow her hair for two years.”

However, as Oonagh added, the last two years weren’t without their complications, given that Bronagh is member of Steelstown Brian Óg’s GAC and City of Derry Swimming Club.

“I don’t know how we got through it,” Oonagh joked, “trying to comb through it in the morning was a nightmare.”

“We also had to get her an adult swimming cap to fit it all in for swimming, and it all had to be put up in a bun for any of her training.”

Oonagh reveaped the “big cut” was a tense affair, as she was the one wielding the scissors.

“I was dying to get it off, but Bronagh would say, ‘no, it’s not long enough,’ so we were delighted when the day finally came,” she said.

“It was well past her waist, and it to be tied up for the cutting, it was a bit of a handling, but we got it done.”

Then followed a number of tense seconds as Oonagh and Bronagh’s friends waited anxiously for the verdict.

“I was sort of panicking, but after about ten minutes she said she liked it.”

In addition to her hair being donated to the Little Princess Trust, Bronagh also raised over £300 for the charity.

For more information on the Little Princess Trust and the work they do, go to http://www.littleprincesses.org.uk.