600 jobseekers jostle for 60 posts at luxury hotel

WHEN the five-star Castlemartyr Hotel first opened its doors almost two years ago guests were told they could have anything they wanted — as long as it was legal.

Yesterday, people packed the ballroom and the lobby, not looking for afternoon tea or a walk in the 220-acre garden. All they wanted was a job.

The Castlemartyr site was bought for €4 million by developers John F Supple four years ago. It opened as a sort of symbol of Celtic Tiger Ireland.

What a difference a couple of years make. The rooms were not filled with champagne-sipping socialites yesterday, but with hundreds of unemployed people desperate for work.

The hotel has 60 jobs to offer, and in the first hour of its recruitment open day they saw 150 people.

By the end of the day, close to 600 people had passed through the doors.

There was Tony, from Castlemartyr, who had worked at Stephen Pearce Pottery for 20 years. He was made redundant in October and has been unable to get work since. He was looking for work in the kitchen. “The job market is non-existent at the moment,” he said.

There was the 50-year-old builder from Youghal who had “never been out of work in his life”. And the 22-year-old mechanic who was let go half way through his apprenticeship.

The recruitment day started at 10am, but hotel manager Andrew Phelan said there was people waiting at the gate at 8am.

There were people from all over the world in Castlemartyr yesterday. Nita from Romania worked at the hotel previously, but lost his job last June. Wlodek, from Poland, has been unable to find a job for the last year.

Aoife, from Midleton, lost her office job just before Christmas. “If I don’t get anything I’ll just have to move abroad,” she said.

The hotel closed in November, but will open its door again in April under the management of Dromoland. And hotel management couldn’t be more hopeful about its future. Their message is clear — we’re open for business and this hotel is going to be a success.