A 22-year-old Wicklow man has capped off a whirlwind year by being crowned Male Barber of the Year at the Irish Barber Awards, marking a major milestone on a journey that began cutting his brother's hair during lockdown.
Dinner table conversations in my house weren't typical. My grandmother was a nurse, my mom was a respiratory therapist, and my stepdad was an EMT. We often talked about the medical emergencies they'd seen that day, but I liked hearing their stories. Still, I didn't want to get into medicine myself, so I went to culinary school after high school. Then, I joined my local volunteer fire department, and realized I liked the adrenaline of the work. By 24, I was a full-time EMT.