12th April, 2001
Notice
Board
Many
Part-time workers are
missing out on holidays
With one holiday period just finished and the May public holiday
on the horizon many of us are benefiting from some well-earned
relief from our daily toil.
For the staff at the Citizens Information Call Centre this
holiday season has also meant an increased number of calls from
both employees and employers who are not sure just what their
public holiday entitlements are.
"For virtually all full time employees, no matter for how
short a time they may have been employed it is quite straight
forward" said Eddie McGrath, information worker at the Call
Centre. "They are entitled to either: a paid day off on the
holiday, a paid day off within a month, an extra day's annual
leave, or an extra days pay, it is up to the employer to decide
which”
For those people who work on a part-time or casual basis it can
be a little more complicated and this is where we find the
biggest area of confusion. Frequently we find that these workers
and their employers wrongly assume that they have no entitlement
to benefit from the public holiday, especially if they would not
normally work on that day anyway, but this is definitely not the
case.
Since the Organisation of Working time Act came into effect in
1997, all part-time and casual workers have a public holiday
entitlement as long as they have worked at least 40 hours in the
five weeks leading up to the holiday. If an employee would
normally work on that day they should be treated in a similar way
as a full time worker. If, on the other hand, they would not
normally be scheduled to work on the particular day on which the
holiday falls they should receive an extra payment of one fifth
of their normal weeks pay.
A new information booklet outlining the rights of part-time
workers is available by post from the call centre.
If you would like to receive a copy this or would like
information on any related matters you may contact the centre on
lo-call 1890 777 121 (at local rates). The service is free and
totally confidential. Information is also available by email: information@comhairle.ie
THE HISTORY OF DOUGLAS
by Con Foley Part 36 - Castletreasure
On the rising ground to the south of Douglas stood an ancient
fortress bearing the curious name of Castletreasure.
'Castletreasure' is said by some to be a corruption of 'Castle
Frizelle.' Smith believed that the "castle" was built
by the Danes. It is an interesting speculation that Donnybrook,
by which one approaches Castletreasure, was earlier called
Danebrook which gives slight, if tenuous support to Smith's
contention that the castle was 0f Danish origin. The site of the
castle is doubtful but the oldest Inhabitants State that it was
in a laneway immediately behind Delaney's farm, about 100 yards
off the Carrigaline Road.
There is a legend in connection with the name 'Castletreasure.'
It seems that during one of the many wars in past centuries, the
owner of the castle was forewarned of an impending attach on his
stronghold. Gathering his valuables together in a sack, he took
them outside the castle walls and buried them secretly. He then
prepared to defend the castle. Unfortunately he failed to do so
and, he and all his followers were put to the sword. SO firmly
was this story believed that up to the middle of the eighteenth
century, 0rganised parties used to hunt for treasure. Early in
the nineteenth century, Windele the archaeologist began digging
in the castle area. The local inhabitants, knowing the legend,
immediately assumed that he was digging for gold!
Croker himself was a witness to an organised local effort in
search of gold. He relates: "Having on the morning of the 14th
May 1814, left Cork soon after daybreak, for a walking excursion
'to cross the county' as it was called, to Carrigaline, in
company with a medical gentleman named Carroll, about two miles
brought us to the village of Douglas, at the early hour of five
o'clock. Here we again struck of f from the main road, into what
is called a bohreen or cart road, to a field, for the purpose of
crossing to the Carrigaline carriage road; and to complete the
advantage of our angular cut or gore, we had to pass over the
hill of Castletreasure, so named it is said, from pieces of gold
having been found there, and where a castle, built by the Danes,
Dr. Smith says, Once stood. On the ground called Castletreasure,
we were surprised at finding nearly a hundred peasants at work,
somewhere about three quarters of an hour before Six o'clock,
actively engaged in turning over the large stones, of which the
farm presented a large crop. Mr. Carroll said to me - 'There is
something not right in this kind of work, but we must go on; come
what may, never do for us to turn back. You see the fools are
under the command of that 01d woman;' and he directed my notice
to a kind of Meg Merilie's figure in a ragged cloak, who, with a
long stick or pole, pointed out now here and now there, and whose
motions were implicitly obeyed by a movement towards the spot
indicated. We stood for some time looking.
On at this strange scene and, at last, Mr. Carroll, who had much
native humour and spoke Irish fluently, so far ingratiating
himself into the confidence of one of the labourers, that he told
him they had met there for no bad purpose, but in consequence of
the command of Shelah the Dreamer, nodding towards the hag
commandant who he said, had dreamed three times, three nights
running (this was said very mysteriously) that for a certain
quantity of tobacco and whiskey, she had the power of pointing
out to those who gave it to her, a great heap of treasure, enough
to make all their fortunes ten times over, which had been buried
in a golden cauldron by the Danes, adding that she was afraid to
undertake looking for it herself without a strong guard, as it
was watched over by a fiery dragon and a black dragon. They had
now, it appeared, worked on the hillside for three days from
sunrise till nearly six o'clock, when they had to go to their
labours in the fields; but no one had found anything bigger than
a brass farthing and two or three old buckles that were not fit
to hold the harness of a decent jaunting cart together.
"Mr. Carroll, who had evidently been taken for an agent or
bailiff of the Castletreasure property, suggested that if they
piled up the stones in a corner of the field, they might be
useful for building and then, Mr. Carroll continued, whose speech
had collected several inquisitive peasants around us, "when
your pickings are all put up in that corner, the teeth of the
harrow could go easily through the ground and they would be sure
to turn up the little crock of gold for you, for as the Danes
were obliged to run away out of Ireland in a great hurry, they
could have had time to bury it more than a spade's length under
the ground.'
continued next week
STRESS - You can beat it!
The Celtic Tiger has boldly crept into the lives
of the Irish people. It has brought with it great opportunities,
more employment, more cars and traffic on our roads, more houses
popping up around us and unfortunately more stress in our daily
lives. Our ancestors developed a “Fight or Flight”
mechanism in the body, which gears up the body to take action to
protect itself against wild animals and unexpected dangers. This
stress response is innate in us but in today’s life the
majority of stress that we are faced with, we can neither fight
it nor run away from it.
Well, what is stress? Basically stress is anything that
stimulates us and increases our level of alertness. Life without
stimulus would be dull and boring. On the other hand, life with
too much stimulus, is unpleasant, tiring and if prolonged can
damage your health, well being and ability to perform effectively.
Where does stress come from? Stress can come from inside the
person (e.g. anxious worrying about things, tense hurried
approach to life, our way of thinking or relationship problems)
or from environmental events (e.g. things like overcrowding,
pollution, noise, trauma, life events and daily hassles).
We can be suffering from stress and not know that we are. What
are the signs of stress? A person suffering from stress may start
to indulge in comfort tricks like eating more junk food, drinking
or smoking more than usual. They may have problems falling asleep
at night or wake up early in the morning. Memory and performance
are less efficient under stress. A person can become more anxious
and irritable or even depressed. Your immune system doesn’t
function as well as it should and you can be more susceptible to
flu and colds.
So what can we do about? Well, here’s the good news. You can
start today to manage your stress levels by doing the things that
make you happy. Learn relaxation because you cannot be relaxed
and anxious at the same time. Look at how you are using your time
and see where you can use it more efficiently. Take up exercise
and get those endorphins flowing and get rid of the excess stress
chemicals floating in your body. Eat foods that make you healthy
and strong and cut back on foods that sap your energy. Find a
friend or relative who you feel really listens to you and talk to
them. Do a stress management course and learn new coping skills.
You have the power within you to control your stress levels and
to control your life. So start today by doing the things that
make you happy, being with the people that make you happy and
thinking happy thoughts.
Collette O’Connor.
MOTORING MOMENTS!
In 1979 the head of America's Chrysler Corporation Lee Iacocca
said " Last year I spent $150 million on advertising and
half of it was wasted - I only wish I knew which half"
Dan Dempsey's 24 hour rescue & Recovery , Kinsale 086-8217777
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION WELFARE
The Royal British Legion is a registered charity in existence
to support people who have served in the British forces up to
recent times. We in the Royal British Legion are here to assist
you with any problems or queries. We may also be in a position to
assist dependents of British ex-service personnel.
We have now changed our address with immediate effect:
Irish Life Building, 1A South Mall, Cork City. We are situated on
the First Floor, C/o British Department of Social Security. A
welfare representative is in attendance every Thursday from 10.30am
to 12 noon and 2pm to 3pm. Telephone No.: (021) 4223958.
And a S.S.A.F.A. (Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen’s Families
Association) representative is also in attendance, c/o British
Department of Social Welfare, every Wednesday from 10.30am to 1pm
and 2pm to 4pm.
CARRIGALINE
LIBRARY
The Monthly Gramophone Recital will take place in Carrigaline Library on Thursday April 19 th. at 11.00 a.m. It will be presented by Mr Pat Lemasney and a great morning is assured . There is no charge and refreshments will be provided.
Labour Force Survey on
Economic Immigration and Childcare
Following the wide-scale success of the annual labour force
surveys over the past two years, Cork Chamber of Commerce, in
association with nine other Irish Chambers who are members of the
Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, has agreed to participate in a
Labour Force 2001 survey. It will focus exclusively on two
critical issues of concern for employers, namely economic
immigration and childcare.
A cross section of two hundred and fifty Cork companies will be
contacted over the coming weeks and asked to complete a detailed
questionnaire by phone.
The survey has two key objectives: to equip Cork Chamber with
authoritative information to lobby and influence public policy on
issues arising in respect of these two issues and secondly, to
support the Chamber movement to assess the local needs of their
members and, where relevant, design services to meet those
demands.
The first part of the survey on economic immigration will provide
detailed information on the experiences of employers regarding
the recruitment and retention of non-nationals. It will focus on
the challenges posed by the red tape involved in securing work
permits and supports employers need to assist the integration of
non-nationals into the workforce.
The second part on childcare will examine the impact an
underdeveloped childcare infrastructure is having on employers
efforts to recruit and retain staff as well as examining some of
the issues surrounding employers efforts in addressing the issue
of inadequate childcare services and the type of supports they
need.
It is hoped that results of this survey will be published by the
Chamber in May.
Comhaltas Jubilee Celebrations
To Mark the foundation of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann 50 years ago a number of high profile events are being organised by the Cork County Board of Comhaltas to celebrate the occasion. A jubilee concert will be held in the Briary Gap Theatre, Macroom on Friday 11th May to coincide with the opening of the County Fleadh Ceol. A full day traditional spectacular is planned for Saturday 1st Sept in Cork city when Comhaltas puts on an open air performance of the talented traditional musicians, singers, dancers and story-tellers from throughout Cork county and city. The highlight of the day will be Ceili Mor Chorcai in the City Hall with the scintillating Turloughmore Ceili Band from Co. Clare with guest artists Sean O'Se and Donnacha O'Muineachain, Fear an Ti. A gathering of Sean Nos singers and musicians for an Oiche "Amhrán agus Fonn" in October.
