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Record job seekers for Lough Derg
15.03.11
by Linda McGrory
A RECORD number of people have applied for seasonal
jobs at an island centre where shoes, sleep, food,
mobile phones, laptops and ipods are banned.
St Patrick's Purgatory, Lough Derg, Co Donegal,
recently advertised for 50 seasonal workers to help
with the 20,000 pilgrims who are expected to visit
the centre this summer.
The site on an island near Pettigo, can only be
accessed by boat. It recently received nearly three
times as many applicants as jobs available for the
upcoming season.
The St Patrick's Purgatory pilgrimage is renowned
for being one of the toughest, with pilgrims
required to go barefoot and undertake 72-hour fasts.
Pilgrims are not allowed to use mobile phones,
laptops, ipods or MP3 players during their stay. |
Only one meal a day, of
dry toast and black tea/coffee, is allowed during
the three-day stay.
Lough Derg prior, Monsignor Richard Mohan, said
applications for their seasonal jobs were
significantly up on previous years due likely to the
recession.
"There were 50 positions available and we got 140
applications. The level of interest has been far
bigger than previous years, probably due to the
economic climate." said Msgr Mohan.
"The applicants were mainly students but there were
some job seekers among them too," he added.
Applications came from Co Donegal and surrounding
counties and from as far as Kildare and Tipperary. |
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Monsignor Richard Mohan. |
The centre also had
applications from England, Lithuania, France, Poland
and Africa.
Lough Derg advertises annually for seasonal workers including
house-keeping staff to work in the dormitories and
dining room during retreats. The temporary positions
which run from June to August, also include boat
crew, sacristans, guides, administrators, an
organist and cantor, who leads the congregation in
singing.
Msgr Mohan said the new seasonal staff would get
wages commensurate with their skills and experience
as well as accommodation if needed and references at
the end of their tenure. He said they could look
forward to working in a tranquil setting and to
meeting many people.
The 1,000 year old retreat, which welcomes all
denominations, has been enjoying a steady increase
in visitors in recent years for its one-day and
three-day retreats. The jobs application deadline
has now passed and interviews will start on April 4. |
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