Volunteering really does pay!

It's said volunteering is good for the soul, but for one unemployed Daingean resident it really has paid - with a job offer. Forty-three year old construction worker Christy Gallagher has been out of work for three years. Recently the family man was involved with a community effort to clean Daingean up and after showing off his power washing skills he was promptly offered a job by fellow local Donal Walsh of Mill Road Plant. Now Christy expects to be busy for the next few months working on Mill Road Plant's road building project related to Bord na Móna's Mount Lucas wind farm, and hopes getting back to employment again might open up doors to other work in the future. "It's a good boost for the esteem," Christy told the Offaly Independent this week. "Working is so much better. Every day you get up to go to somewhere. I'd say most of the summer now I'll be flat out and it could lead to something else." Christy has expressed gratitude to Donal and Mill Road Plant, but Donal played down his part when speaking to the Offaly Independent yesterday (Thursday). He did explain that the heavy plant business has been in existence for almost 23 years however, and that it currently provides employment for 18 people. He confirmed his job offer too, saying that he extended the offer to his fellow local man immediately after the clean-up efforts.