Paki ‘Petrol’ Sheehan - 60 years serving motorists
On the day that Russia first fired missiles on Ukraine last week, an act that will surely have repercussions on fuel prices in Ireland and internationally, when they are already at a record high, there is one man who can be considered an expert in all things petrol-related, and that’s Mitchelstown’s Paki Sheehan.
Manning the pumps at the petrol station on the way into town from the Cork road for over 60 years, he has seen the price go from 5d/gallon, to today’s price of €8/gallon. The garage that is now Circle K is where a 17 year old Paki started his working life, at what was then Bill Harrington’s garage. Still hard at it today, Paki continues his weekly shift and has no intention of stopping anytime soon.
Last September, he was recognised by Circle K’s head office for his years of dedicated service and presented with an award, along with his colleague Eileen Brown, who was commended for her 20 years of hard work.
Paki is a man who clearly loves his job, and takes the changes through the years in his stride. While acknowledging that people are quicker to get going and slower to stop and chat at the filling station, he doesn’t dwell, but accepts the changing world. He has a fine collection of photos and clippings recording the garage, and Mitchelstown, through the years and is a one-man encyclopedia on the history of the garage on the Fermoy Road.
The garage, which always remained the property of the franchisee Shell, was held subsequently by Michael Knowles, who operated a car sales garage alongside the pumps from 1973.
A Cork Examiner article advertising the opening of Knowles Car Sales at the time informed readers that, “Mitchelstown is one of the most thriving towns in Co. Cork and it wears its mantle of success with a style that reflects the townspeople’s pride in their accomplishments. It is a place that attracts business, a place where the enterprising investor is sure of a just reward for his efforts.”
Paki says he’s seen the price of fuel peak before, and queues along with it, at the time of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
He started when he was 17 after he asked Bill Harrington for a job, and never returned to school. The most common type of car he sees are jeeps and people carriers - something that he only ever saw big farmers and horse trainers drive before. Paki has no car himself, “I don’t need one!’ he states.
A DRINK ON CHARLIE
While he has seen and heard many things in his years at the forefront of the town, once he had the honour of baling out a desperate Mallow-bound Charlie Haughey.
“He was on his way to a social, and they ran out of petrol at the top of town. I had just closed up, and a man came over and asked and so I opened up again. There wasn’t security like now, you only had to flick a button then and unlock the door; actually, you probably just pushed in the door!”
Paki was concentrating on the gauge when the man behind him asked would he be having a drink going home.
“I said I would, and I looked around at this short little man. I never thought Charlie Haughey was so short! But I recognised the voice. And he gave me a red 10 shilling note and I said no bother, and I never saw him again.”
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
After Michael Knowles, the garage was held by Christy Roche, followed by Michael Finn, then it was Shell, Topaz and today, Circle K.
The forecourt attendant is a dying breed, and many people just “prefer to do it themselves”. However, there is always a certain correlation between the ladies who want to stay clean and the obliging forecourt attendant.
“I noticed it a lot when a lot of cars turned to diesel. Diesel is a lot oilier and smellier, and a lot of women wouldn’t want their nails and clothes ruined with the smell, so they’d get me to fill the car.”
Today he serves people whose grandfathers he also knew. Kids in town know him as ‘Paki Petrol’, and for some people on the drive from Dublin to Cork, he might be the first person they speak to all day.
STILL GOING STRONG
The move to automatic or electronic means to pump fuel and pay is something of a loss, says Paki, who recalls the pump being run by electricity, and the whole process being more ‘natural’.
“No one used to go to the petrol pump - even though in reality a child could work them. Now, most people want to do it themselves. People are less inclined to stop and have a chat I suppose.”
On receiving recognition from Circle K, which was presented last September, Paki is beaming.
“It’s nice to get something for all the years there. They appreciate their workers there.”
RECOGNITION
Paul Dixon, Senior Director of Retail Sales and Operations with Circle K, was delighted to come to Mitchelstown to meet both Paki and Eileen.
“We are delighted to award Patrick and Eileen with our special Service Award to mark their phenomenal service milestones. Our colleagues are integral to our success and Patrick and Eileen epitomise exactly what we are about – serving customers brilliantly and making their lives easy.
“We are extremely grateful to both of them for their outstanding commitment and dedication to Circle K and their local communities.”
The conversation with Paki started with how it used to cost £2 to fill a car with petrol, and it ends with a discussion on cashless payment and the use of self-service fuel pumps. However, Paki has no intention of quitting anytime soon, as there is a fine cohort of people still remaining who enjoy the company while they watch the numbers creep higher and higher on the pumps…