WATCH: Glenasmole farmer’s haircut with sheep shears goes viral
WATCH:
By Mary Dennehy
A VIDEO of Glenasmole farmer Donie Anderson skillfully cutting his hair with a traditional sheep shears has gone viral, amassing over one million views in just over 24 hours.
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 with his sheepdogs Jess, Bob and Thos
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.
This week, Donie is back in the headlines, after his DIY haircut, which he shared on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon, went viral.
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.
Donie cutting his hair
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, was as laid back as ever and unphased by all of the attention when contacted by The Echo.
“My daughter Mary is all excited about it and was filling me in on the number of views, but sure I didn’t think much about it”, he said.
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.
