Aer lingus application closed 5th of January. I was surprised that there was not a bigger thread on here about it. The application window was only open for about 2/3 weeks I suppose and was over Xmas so maybe some people were not aware of it.
Anyway its not looking too good for wannabes as I have been told by a friend who works there that most of the positions were filled nearly immediately by experienced guys. So most that applied including myself are fighting it out for only a couple of positions. They did state that preference was going to be given to those with hours on the A320 so at a disadvantage from the outset.