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AN UNEMPLOYED FATHER of five has spent the last five days walking for hours up and down the road at Newland’s Cross wearing a sign around his neck – and says he won’t stop until he gets a job.
Brendan Coleman has spent all of his working life employed in the sales sector and after losing his job last year he found he was unable to find new employment.
He told TheJournal.ie that he had tried “all the conventional” means of applying for jobs, including online and the national papers, “to no avail”. Coleman decided that he would make a sign about his predicament and wear it at the busy Newland’s Cross junction.
“This is my last route,” said the Wexford man. “It’s a gimmick. It’s a way of making people sit up and take notice.”
Coleman, who is in his fifties, wears a sign that has his mobile number on it and the lines:
To all employers – prove to me that you don’t age discriminate – employ me! I have 20 years sales experience.
“I don’t mind,” he said of potential future jobs. “If I have to diversify, I don’t mind. A job is what I’m looking for and I’m not going to apologise.”
He has received a lot of support online, with his photograph being shared widely on Facebook. “It’s been phenomenal,” he said. “I have gotten 7 or 8,000 likes on Facebook. I got a text from someone in Australia who had seen me on Facebook.”
He said the support “has renewed my faith in people”.
Since Monday, Coleman has driven from Wexford to Newland’s Cross, where he takes up his position at 9am on a narrow concrete strip near traffic lights. Surrounding him are about eight lanes of traffic. He stays there, walking up and down, until at least 3.30pm.
“It’s not easy. This is not simple,” he said. “”It’s not nice. It’s about keeping positive. It’s not saying ‘I’m not going to bother’.”
He is married with five grown-up children and said his family are “totally behind me”.
“I couldn’t do it without them.”
He has had a number of employers contact him since he began wearing the sign. Coleman plans on continuing to go to Newland’s Cross with his placard until he is officially employed.
“I’m going to stay as long as it takes to get a job.”
Coleman said he doesn’t blame anybody for his lack of a job, and he knows it is hard for employers as well as unemployed people. But he is determined to do what it takes to become employed again.
I’ve worked all my life. If I’m honest, yeah it was a culture shock not to be working. I wanted to be working. I’m hopeful I will get a job; I know I will and that’s the reason [I'm here].
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I suppose the CIA will blame the Russians and use it to attack the Trump administration.
@Tommy: Wikileaks didn’t get this info by themselves. So as such it was supplied to them. And it is well known that Assange and Wikileaks have a cosy relationship with the FSB.
@Mick Jordan: RED THUMB
If you wrap your phone in tinfoil you’re safe enough
@Alan b..: You used to be able to just put it in a microwave for a minute on full power but even the microwaves are watching us now….
So basically if you’ve a seven year old IPhone and if the CIA get their hands in it they might be able to feck about with it… Considering the new IPhone was rooted about a month after it was released I’d be more worried if the most powerful security agency on earth couldn’t do what wikileaks are saying they can do…
Do you have children ? People who maintain that having access to your living room, or bedroom for that mater, via TV, Laptop etc. even when turned off, is harmless and in safe hands should watch following short clip.
https://www.facebook.com/DeprogramYourself/videos/1737632829889657/
@Pat O’Dwyer: frank is that you?
if the shit is going down wouldn’t you hope the special forces. CIA. GCHQ or the garda.lol can track a mobile phone and hack it to use camera and mic. it’s a mobile device it is NOT secure so don’t believe it to be and get all offended that the government in an attempt to keep us safe might hack a phone.
have your say