The Australian Embassy in Ireland has blasted a racist advert seeking a bricklayer in Perth which stated that “no Irish” would be accepted for the job.
However, the perosn who placed the ad is standing by it saying too many Irish make up fake credential for jobs.
The ad, published on the classified website Gumtree, stated “Bricklayer needed ASAP. $250 a day, no part-time workers and NO IRISH”
A spokesman for the Embassy said the Australian Government has no tolerance for racism and discrimination and this is reflected in a broad range of anti-discrimination legislation in Australia.
He added, “The Government has an unwavering commitment to a multicultural Australia and greatly welcomes the contribution made by people of all backgrounds, regardless of origin, gender, or color, to Australia's culture, society, and prosperity.”
The man who placed the ad, who gave the name Simon, spoke to the Irish Independent. He defended the ad saying that he had added this instruction because he was sick of Irish people applying for jobs with no experience in the field.
He said “I have no trouble with Irish people…But I’ve had to fire a number of people. I’ve had lots of Irish people say they have experience bricklaying but come over and have no clue how to lay bricks.
“I’m very busy and don’t have time to be watching over them.”
He refused to give his full name or company name to the newspaper and said he was fully aware of the anti-discriminatory legislation set down in Australia.
The Irish on Twitter and other social networks have made their feelings about Simon’s advert very clear.
Irish Times journalist Conor Pope tweeted “This is genuinely outrageous and most likely illegal.”
Reacting to the advert, via the Irish Time’s Generation Emigration section “Caroline” called for Simon to be brought to court for incitement to hatred and to be called a racist.
Captain Liberte said, “It wouldn’t be the first time we were discriminated against. Look at old Punch magazines where we were depicted as simian, aggressive alcoholics. Or in the US when we were treated appallingly on arrival in the 19th century. Or in the UK, “No blacks, no dogs, no Irish”.”
The language in the advert is reminiscent of that used in British cities during the 1950s and early in the United States during the Great Famine, and onwards. More recently, just two years ago, “No Irish need apply” signs were seen on Polish building sites. It was said that these signs were to take revenge on unscrupulous Irish builders who had treated their Polish staff badly.
Others reacting to the ad sympathized with Simon.
AlanD said “I have seen, heard and experienced firsthand a huge number of “lads” who have overdone it on the Sunday and can’t get their hangover head off the pillow to get to work. I have seen it with my friends, I have heard in the pubs and it is a harsh reality.”
He continued, “The majority of my fellow countrymen are here now to supplement their drinking, not send money home like times gone by and as we all know, the cursed drink always has consequences.”
57 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Lokelani | Oct 08, 2012, 06:53 AM EDT
This simon could have said "inexperienced" need not apply; not make it an out & out attack on the whole Irish race because of a chose few is ignorant & hateful. This simone guy probably is a "colonized brit", still trying to put the Irish in their place; there's a lot of British influence in Aus; look at their court systems; it's like still being back in Englan with their wigs & always with their rules. Tell simon to go back to jolly Old England if he doesn't fancy the Irish in Australia. Here's another spin on the whole story; how about Australia becoming an Independant country, free of the Queen's rule and then we'll see more equality. It almost passed before, maybe it will next time. But it won't happen as long as there is so many ole poms hanging on & trying to enforce their ways/rules on the Irish. And for those of you that don't know what "pom" means, it's an Australian abbreviaton for: "Prisoners of Mother England" and there is still a lot of strife in Aus between the English & the Irish.
Lokelani | Oct 08, 2012, 06:22 AM EDT
Australia's population makes up over 1/3 Irish, so the "pommie" gits need to get a clue, the Irish have every right to be there! And then the Poles have the nerve to say "No Irish allowed"; I guess they have short memories; most of their relatives are settling in droves in Ireland and on the dole, no less!
lightslights | Sep 13, 2012, 02:14 AM EDT
@jondaly what Australians are you talking about ? most Aussies would laugh at the fact you calling them just like the British.
johndaly | Aug 06, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT
f**k the aussies WEST BRITS they have lost the run of themselfs there would'nt be an Australia without the IRISH
Springfield9 | Jun 13, 2012, 02:05 PM EDT
When the poor man passes away, perhaps the mortician will put a brick where he'll think about it forever.
seanomelb | Mar 16, 2012, 06:54 PM EDT
At least Ciara and I could have a meaningful conversation.Go tilt at another windmill Don Coyote George.
MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 15, 2012, 05:56 PM EDT
King Georgie the Wanker Wacker is refering to himself as normal...... There are Asylums filled with normal people like you!
antoman | Mar 15, 2012, 04:26 PM EDT
By the way. I'm convinced georgyboy is not right upstairs. Not the full shilling like.
GeorgeDillon | Mar 15, 2012, 03:24 PM EDT
ciaradildo: "Nothing wrong with being a pervert". Maybe not, but don't defile our web site with your obsessions about dildos etc. Why don't you and seanomel just write spicy e-mails to each other, and leave the rest of us normal people out of it?
GeorgeDillon | Mar 15, 2012, 03:21 PM EDT
MichaelCollins--Maybe you've been too busy sucking up to Lady Lavery. I have stated often on this site that I hold dual nationality--USA and Ireland. I actually could take out an Italian passport also, but haven't done so yet, even tho I am a lover of tutto italiano. In any case, as you've probably noticed, my dual nationality gives me unique insights into both Ireland and USA. As regards ciaradildo's stupid point, there haven't been protests against the EU screwing of Ireland either--does this goof want us to think that means the Irish people like getting screwed by Germany? COme on ciaradildo, how come Mass Immigration has never been put to a vote? Are you telling us that the majority of Irish people would vote in favor of their replacement by foreign migrants? What an insane racist oaf you are!
michaelcollins | Mar 15, 2012, 05:01 AM EDT
hey george can you not answer a simple question?......what country are you from?
seanomelb | Mar 14, 2012, 07:19 PM EDT
I don't have to prove my Irishness to an arm-dragging ingrate like you. Don't forget to lock the trailer on your way out you anti Irish racist moron.
ciaradexy | Mar 14, 2012, 05:51 PM EDT
Mr Dildo writes-''There is not one vote or survey which shows that the Irish people supported the mass settlement of their country by foreigners.'' Have you ever seen or heard of a protest AGAINST migration into Ireland?
ciaradexy | Mar 14, 2012, 05:29 PM EDT
Nothing wrong with being a pervert George, we are ok with whatever it is that youre into. Racist? moi? Youre the one who complains about migrants coming to a country you are neither form not live in. You repeatedly make yourself look like a nazi over and over again.
GeorgeDillon | Mar 14, 2012, 05:24 PM EDT
ciaradexy: " I AM the indogenous people of Ireland!" I think you mean indigenous. But you're only one person, you idiot, you don't speak for the six million Irish. There is not one vote or survey which shows that the Irish people supported the mass settlement of their country by foreigners. Don't be such a fool.
GeorgeDillon | Mar 14, 2012, 05:21 PM EDT
Ciara: Why are you so obsessed with sexual vulgarity. You call me a "tosser". For the benefit of American readers, I should say that word means a "masturbator". And a day or two back you were obsessing about dildos. What's with you? Maybe you need a psychiatrist or therapy? Of course you're a fool as well as a pervert. Your claim that you can't be a racist is utterly stupid, like you. The Irish boss class, the ones who brought Mass Immigration to Ireland and then Mass Emigration, they're racist garbage too. Like you.
owainglyndwr16 | Mar 14, 2012, 04:18 PM EDT
Remember the Friday January 02 2009 Irish Independent Headline 'No Irish need apply' - Polish builders get their own back..??? Were they called Racist ?? No .. If the Irish moan about the Australian then they are hypocrites ... I hate double standards especially considering the Poles flooded into Ireland during the boom .. Were they grateful ??
ciaradexy | Mar 14, 2012, 03:55 PM EDT
George, I AM the indogenous people of Ireland! Im not some half breed result of migration unlike yourself! Youre a person who has had a few holidays here. End of story. I have spent time in Australia and the US, that doesnt make me an authority on all things Aussie or American and I dont pretend it does, unlike yourself. How can I be racist against Irish people when I am an Irish person you tosser!
GeorgeDillon | Mar 14, 2012, 03:26 PM EDT
seanomel: "I have lived in Australia for 45yrs". Well that figures. That's why you're so ignorant of what's going on in today's Ireland. You peer at Ireland thru green-tinted eye glasses. You're really a dope when it comes to today's reality. Yet you have the cheek to contradict me, even tho I go to Ireland two or three times a year. Why don't you save up and go back to the Old Country once before you die? You're in for a big surprise!
GeorgeDillon | Mar 14, 2012, 03:22 PM EDT
MichaelCollins: What do you mean? And by the way are you any relative of the guy who sold out the Irish Republic back in 1922?
GeorgeDillon | Mar 14, 2012, 03:21 PM EDT
Ciaradildo: If you weren't such an illiterate you could read my posts and see where I have shown tht those--like you--who want to displace the indigenous people and culture of a country and replace it with a mass settlement of foreigners are obviously racist garbage.
ciaradexy | Mar 14, 2012, 01:16 PM EDT
George Dildo, stop calling people racist when you cant give examples of racism to back up your accusation. No mention on IC about the American man from Texas who used the birth certs of 5 dead irish children to give himself 5 identities in order to defraud the US authorities and insurance companies.
michaelcollins | Mar 14, 2012, 12:29 PM EDT
what country are you from george dillon?????........the cheek of you
Flavian | Mar 14, 2012, 11:44 AM EDT
There is no mention in this article of the fact that Simon had a Northern Irish accent, according to the Irish Times.
ciaradexy | Mar 14, 2012, 06:37 AM EDT
THERE IS NO MENTION ANYWHERE IN THIS STORY OF ALCOHOL!!! WHY ARE POSTERS BRINGING IT UP? THE EMPLOYER SAID HE WAS SICK OF CHANCERS PRETENDING THEY HAD EXPERIENCE IN THIS TYPE OF WORK WHICH THEY OBVIOUSLY DIDINT!! I had to put this into caps because various idiots keep talking about alcohol!
IrelandNorth | Mar 14, 2012, 06:31 AM EDT
I reckon he's pulling off an Aer O'Leary stunt. The Human Resources School of Controversial Commerciality. Look at all the publicity he's gotten for his prank. Geez, you guys/C'mon lads! When will the respective world's Departments/Ministeries of Political Correctness realise when they are being taken for a ride.
cinderfella1 | Mar 14, 2012, 12:49 AM EDT
No Roos should be welcome in Ireland!
seanomelb | Mar 13, 2012, 11:20 PM EDT
What Simon said is illegal under the racial discrimination act. Speaking from experience (I have lived in Australia for 45yrs.) It is the responsibility of the employer to vet staff and fire them if they do not measure up. To make a blanket statement not to hire any Irish is blatantly discriminatory. Making excuses for Simple Simon just doesn't cut it. In the sixties and seventies when applying for jobs in Australia job applications even asked to state your religion,on two occasions I lost out on employment for that reason. I was told by one manager that Irish Catholics were bad workers and S..t stirrers,he happened to be English. After the election of Gough Whitlam(1972) all this changed.Discrimination in any form is reprehensible and most Irish should know that.
brian22 | Mar 13, 2012, 09:56 PM EDT
There are thousands of Irish working legally and illegally in Australia without problems. As an Australian I would suggest there is very little prejudice against the Irish, quite the contrary in fact, they are genuinely welcome and we are happy to see them here. I am sure Simon's decision to exclude Irish bricklayers was nothing more than a commercial decision based on competency not racism. He certainly could have put more thought into the wording of the advertisement, but lets not get all bitter and twisted and bring up the 1800's in the USA.
warrenpoint00 | Mar 13, 2012, 07:31 PM EDT
I do not think it should be classified as illegal, company ownwers in their own country expressing concern for hiring workers from another country who lie about their trade experience. The guy is right time wasters cost us all money , you can not be a mammas boy and claim to be a bricklayer.The other possibility is old Simon may be a colonized brit, they have,nt gone away you know
seanomelb | Mar 13, 2012, 05:54 PM EDT
The add is illegal and he most likely will be prosecuted. Simple Simon need only ask for the proper paperwork to vet his staff, a blanket "No Irish" is reprehensible.And to the village idiot George I have employed 100's of people over a thirty year period and I have found good and bad employees from a myriad of ethnic backgrounds. A racist bigot like you Georgy boy would not last 10 minutes in my companies. I suggest you crawl back to your mobile home dragging you arms on the ground (be careful not to break the bottle of Jack)
antoman | Mar 13, 2012, 05:47 PM EDT
Again georgyboy/woundedknee has brought shame on his fellow Americans with his trollish behaviour. Now then, the article. It would normally read "no blacks no dogs no Irish". So its not all bad. The guy is obviously open to hiring dogs and black folk.
MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 13, 2012, 05:27 PM EDT
King Georgie Diloon, you don't have to apologize for being abnormal, people understand you by now. Now you are boring me, so go plug in your boyfriend... BTW, a very wise man said never argue with a fool, so go away!
WoundedKnee | Mar 13, 2012, 05:24 PM EDT
MCCOLGAN1492 I saw what you wrote. You should be banned from this site.
GeorgeDillon | Mar 13, 2012, 05:05 PM EDT
MadColgan, for those who have missed his antics on other parts of this site, has written effusively about his interest in dildos. I apologize for mentioning this fact to normal readers, but I think people should know a little about this particular pervert poster before they bother reading his posts.
MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 13, 2012, 04:51 PM EDT
King Georgie Diloon- Tell your daughter i said thanks, and that is all i will say about that!!! Still bitter eh ???
GeorgeDillon | Mar 13, 2012, 04:47 PM EDT
Moron Madcolgan (this is the guy who was obsessing about dildos on another part of this site). You're a stupid dirtmouth racist fool, you have nothing to offer any sane discussion about work. Go get a job, you dirty loudmouth. Better still, crawl back to your lousy KKK.
MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 13, 2012, 04:42 PM EDT
Success is the best revenge... The leader of the Laborer's International Union of North America is none other than Terrence O'Sullivan, I beleave it to be the case that he is a proud member of Sinn Fein. Masons Tenders would Fall under his jurisdiction in the USA and Canada. With that in mind, it was only a week ago that a hand full of Jack Asses who post these walls, were self righteously whining about a Romanian looking for a job. One Bigot is not the end of the end of the world. Go with the contractor down the street who hires the talent Mr. Simon refuses to and, hopefully you play a role in hurting his business.. Remember what goes around comes around and we are all working in a global economy!
GeorgeDillon | Mar 13, 2012, 04:33 PM EDT
This employer obviously had prior experience of how feckless and stupid some Irish can be. I heard that our Down Under poster seanomel worked for him at one stage. Nuff Said.
snakehips | Mar 13, 2012, 04:02 PM EDT
Would it have hurt Mr.Simon to state that inexperienced people need not apply? In a country who has a rich population of Australian-Irish, it was a pretty stupid thing to post. Handed-down hate runs deep and I guess it will take many more generations to eliminate it. Too bad...
hotdubliner | Mar 13, 2012, 03:45 PM EDT
As punishment for such an outrageous advert, this "Simple Simon" needs to be made to hire ONLY IRISH to get him over his problem. This kind of carry-on just doesn't have a leg to stand on in today's global society! And as to the drinking comments below, I'd say Australian hard drinkers can hold their own with the Irish drinkers (or German, or English, or Scottish, or any nation on earth) any day of the week!
Madeliene | Mar 13, 2012, 02:49 PM EDT
test? Why oly the Irish? Thought that crap was gone guess not wonder if that jerk knows who built Australia in the first place?!
LiamScanlan | Mar 13, 2012, 01:36 PM EDT
If I were an employer looking for brickies, I'd be wary of Irish workers too. And it would be because of the drinking. the way I'd handle that situation, though, would be to say, "heavy drinking not tolerated" and I would have regular drug testing. The odd Monday morning, I'd have testers in to check the blood-alcohol level of workers. After a heavy night's drinking, an employee would pass the low limit (maybe 0.01, compared to eight times that for a common drink-driving limit). That way I'd quickly filter out the drinkers. if that were a problem. To ensure qualified workers need only apply, I'd ask for paperwork: certificate of apprenticeship as well as phone numbers of previous employers I could call.
ciaradexy | Mar 13, 2012, 01:07 PM EDT
The employer of this ad didnt even mention alcohol so why are posters on IC? he said he was sick of employing people who said they had experience but who obviously didnt.
roryobrien | Mar 13, 2012, 12:51 PM EDT
OK, the Aussie was a bit of a twit and he could - and should face prosecution - but let's not get away from the fact - as a lot of posters have alrerady made clear - that this generation has no interest in working only getting stupidly drunk somewhere else. I remember years ago working in Germany with a bunch of drunken, dangerous Irish ( and Scots ) who were run off every building site in the country. And that was 30 years ago, I reckon things have gone downhill since. Celtic Tiger my arse
citizen69 | Mar 13, 2012, 12:30 PM EDT
Surely this advert is illegal?
Murph46 | Mar 13, 2012, 12:28 PM EDT
No surprise,No Irish need apply signs been around since 1800's
shuvonn | Mar 13, 2012, 12:17 PM EDT
Thought those days were over. Apparently not!
SingleDonald | Mar 13, 2012, 11:22 AM EDT
This is deplorable! Checking credentials are the solution, I agree. Also, any intoxicated worker, be he Irish, Italian, German, Hispanic, etc. should be sent home, the 1st time he reports to work in an inebriated state. The 2nd time, he should be fired. I'm probably being a little kind here; many would say the 1st offense should lead to dismissal! One correction: this is ethnic prejudice, not "racism". That term would apply if blacks, whites, Hispanics or Asians were excluded.
Ms.Gail | Mar 13, 2012, 11:09 AM EDT
The advantage of belonging to a union or guild is that it is a credential difficult to fake.
Irishgreeeyes | Mar 13, 2012, 10:36 AM EDT
SMDH HOW RACIST CAN YOU BE SHAME ON YOU :(
cajuntom | Mar 13, 2012, 10:34 AM EDT
Doesn't this guy know who built his country?
phiggins | Mar 13, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT
Many people looking for jobs lie. It's not an Irish thing! We just fired a worked recently who said she had Oracle experience. Turns out she didn't even know how to attachment a document to an e-mail. She was American and I feel bad for her - she just plain needed a job.
CitizenWhy | Mar 13, 2012, 10:02 AM EDT
As others point out, a licensing system is needed to get rid of the fakes. Do concede that it's frustrating to be deceived regularly, and very costly. It's also possible that some of the work of the fakers needed to be torn up and redone. Or that their work will fall apart very quickly, producing customer anger and a damaged reputation.
faberm1 | Mar 13, 2012, 10:01 AM EDT
WHy can't Simon give them a 50 brick wall test and have them put up a 50 dollar deposit if they can't lay bricks and spoil them all. No need for "No Irish Apply" signs.
hermitTalker | Mar 13, 2012, 09:38 AM EDT
Is there not a licensing process to protect the employer from fakes that also protects the genuinely qualified. That would solve this problem, some profedssionals even have to pass a test/undergo a process moving from State to State or country to country, physicians, lawyers and such.
Towngate | Mar 13, 2012, 08:26 AM EDT
Seems like this 'Simon' chap was a bit crude and careless with this ad offering work. The Employment Authorities should install a system of checking credentials and jailing or deporting any culprits. Having had to undertake major remedial works to a structure 'built' by Irish 'chancers',myself, I have some sympathy.