Almost €5,000 has been raised for cancer research following a hair-raising – or hair-razing – fundraising campaign by the team behind the construction of the Athea Wind Farm in West Limerick.

The much-needed funding was amassed as part of the annual Today FM Shave or Dye charity drive to benefit the Irish Cancer Society. Construction and project staff from SSE Renew-ables, Power Team, Mori-artys, Kirby Group and RoadBridge all took part.

Almost 25 staff working on the development of the SSE Renewables wind farm got their friends and family to sponsor them to shave or dye their hair for cancer research. Multi-coloured hair dyes as well as razors and hair clippers were applied to the heads of each team member at a special Shave or Dye-athon night held in Brown Joe’s Bar, Athea.

By shaving and dyeing their hair, the project team at Athea Wind Farm showed their support for the many thousands of people who are going through, or have gone though, cancer treatment themselves.

The €5,000 raised by the wind farm team brings the total amount of funding currently raised in the annual Today FM’s Shave or Dye campaign to over €300,000 so far. Since the campaign began in 2010, around €4.5 million has been raised for the Irish Cancer Society.

Athea Wind Farm’s Shave or Dye campaign co-ordinator Liza Barrett said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the team at Athea Wind Farm has been able to raise this important funding for the Irish Cancer Society. We’ll all be sporting very interesting hairstyles now! However, it has all been worth for such a great cause. On behalf of the entire team who sacrificed their hairstyles for Shave or Dye, I would like to thank everyone who supported us both through sponsorship and through the provision of prizes and support for our Shave or Dye-athon night in Brown Joe’s Bar.”

In addition to the individual efforts of team members, the Athea Shave or Dye charity drive also received significant support from local businesses and suppliers in Athea, Abbeyfeale, Foynes, Limerick, Newcastle West, Tralee and beyond.

The 16 turbine 33.65MW Athea Wind Farm, which is currently under construction, is located close to the existing Tournafulla, Dromada and Rathcahill wind farms. When completed, SSE’s Co. Limerick wind farms will have a combined generation capacity of 68MW – enough electricity to power almost 34,000 homes. Construction on the Athea Wind Farm is expected to be completed by December 2013.