Donie’s hair raising moment is viewed over 30 million times
WATCH:
By Mary Dennehy
A VIDEO of farmer Donie Anderson skillfully cutting his hair with a traditional sheep shears has gone viral, amassing over four million views on the Glenasmole farmer’s own Facebook page.
In need of a haircut during lockdown, Donie opted to go down the DIY route – and took to one of his fields, with a sheep shears.
Donie Anderson
Well known across the area, Donie works hard to protect, promote and preserve farming traditions in the Tallaght hills and across the Dublin Mountains.
A former Tallaght Person of the Year, Donie organises the capital’s only sheep dog trials competition and was in 2019 included as a notable practioner in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In recent days, Donie has been back in the headlines, after his DIY haircut, which he shared on his Facebook page on Wednesday, April 8, went viral.
Since then the video has gone national, with a host of newspapers, news sites and radio stations featuring Donie’s DIY-do.
The video is also being picked up internationally, accumulating more than 30 million views – four million of which our own Donie’s facebook page.
Speaking with The Echo, Donie said: “Now and again if my hair is long, I’ll do it myself with the shears.
“I really needed a hair cut.
“I was thinking if I didn’t cut it, I wouldn’t be able to get my head in the door”, Donie joked.
He added how his hair cut was also welcomed by the birds, which “are out there now, picking up the hair for their nests”.
Donie, who has been shearing sheep for close on 50 years, can be heard in the four-minute video talking to his dogs Jess and Bob.
When asked by The Echo how he feels about the reaction to his video, Donie said: “I can’t believe it really.
“I’m a little baffled.
“I think people like that the video was real, it wasn’t staged or rehearsed… and it’s a normal part of life for me.
“I would go to my cousin’s hairdressers for a cut but if it gets too long, I just do it myself [with the shears].”
He added: “I think it shows a little light heartedness at this time… and is good if it can take people’s minds off everything for a few minutes.
“It also shows the [farming] traditions still alive in Dublin and Tallaght.”
Donie regularly posts videos and pictures of life in the Tallaght hills on his Facebook page, many of which show the great work and skill of his loyal and trusty sheep dogs Jess, Bob and Thos.
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