AN eight-year-old Bandon girl who wants to follow in her father’s firefighting footsteps and become a ‘fire girl,’ compiled her own CV in the hope of securing a job.
Holly O’Mahony, whose dad Denis is a retained firefighter with Bandon Fire Station, recently dropped in her CV to station officer John O’Connell, along with some buns ‘to butter them up’ as they were seeking new recruits.
Speaking to The Southern Star, her mum Petra Hendrickx O’Mahony said Holly has always been mad about fire engines and firefighters even before her dad became a retained firefighter in September 2020.
‘When she heard there were vacancies being advertised for Bandon fire station, she said she was going to join up, but Denis told her she would need a CV. So he explained to her what it is and she went off and made her own one, complete with a drawing of herself,’ said Petra.
‘She was upset that she didn’t get the job in the end, as she was looking forward to giving up school!’ her mum added. ‘But she got a wonderful letter from chief fire officer Séamus Coughlan from the Cork County Fire Service who thanked her for applying for the position of retained firefighter, which was lovely to receive.’
Mr Coughlan told Holly he admired her ‘logic’ as she added her age (8) and her sister Ilona’s age (10) on her CV to achieve the minimum age requirement of 18.
‘This shows you can solve problems and look at things from different angles,’ he told Holly, and said she is exactly the ‘type of dynamic person’ that they seek to recruit into Cork County Fire Service.
Needless to say he said they will be keeping her CV on file, and advised Holly to continue with her studies.
As a result of her initiative, Holly was invited to Bandon Fire Station last Friday and presented with a special helmet by crew members.
In her detailed CV, Holly, who is in second class in Scoil Eoin in Innishannon, said she would make a good ‘fire girl’ because she is small and would be able to fit into small places and wouldn’t take up much room in the fire brigade.
‘I don’t mind giving up school because the fire brigade will be more fun,’ she said, when outlining her education details and says her previous work experience included ‘cleaning up dad’s workshop’ and ‘helping him put a roof on the shed.’ Holly also added that sometimes she will be ‘late’ because her dad won’t let her use her quad bike on the road. She also lists camogie, soccer and quad biking as her hobbies.
Holly previously found fame having starred in the music video ‘Potholes’ by The Shruggs, as her uncle Kees is a member of the band.
