Irish League’s Seanan Clucas braves the shave in support of NHS

Irish League football may be on lockdown due to the Coronavirus crisis but Clucas and former Dungannon Swifts colleague Chris Hegarty have teamed up in aid of NHS staff.

Hegarty, now at Crusaders, set up a JustGiving page over the weekend asking people to donate to a ‘Brave The Shave’ fundraiser by Clucas.

In the space of a few days of social media promotion the pair exceeded the original target of £150 and, entering the final 24 hours of live donations, the total moved past £1,200.

“The generosity of people has been over-whelming to be honest,” said Clucas - who also counts Bristol Rovers, Linfield and Derry City on his list of former clubs. “It all started out with a few of our mates cutting their hair and I get some stick about my receding hairline so said the only way I would do anything would be to raise money.

“Chris set up the page and we set the target low, aware these are difficult times for people financially - but the response has been amazing.

“I think we smashed the target in the space of 15 minutes or so, just by promoting it over our own social media and others sharing it on.

“We will probably keep the page live until Friday night or so and every penny counts for such a worthy cause.

“The work going on by the NHS staff and volunteers in taking care of us during such a testing time is amazing.

“To see such an increased appreciation for the NHS has been one of the few positives of this whole Coronavirus situation and, hopefully, our little fundraiser can do some good.

“We have seen so many sports clubs and individuals reach out and support each other and those within their own communities in recent weeks, so that’s been really encouraging.”

Clucas went under the clippers on Tuesday with help from his girlfriend Melissa - with the video viewed on Twitter over 18,000 times and comments from Irish League players past and present within the messages of support.

“I went down to 0.5 on the clippers so I just hope it grows back,” laughed Clucas. “I am getting used to it and maybe it will help give me a hard image when we return to playing!

“Obviously football is far from a priority for anyone at the minute but we are all missing it.

“The ‘Brave The Shave’ fundraiser has actually been a good laugh and a way of catching up with friends within the game, I think the camaraderie is something everyone is keen to get back to once the lockdown lifts.

“But, overall, we just want to thank everyone for such amazing support.”

To make a donation visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/christopher-hegarty

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