Pakie Sheehan says he has no intention of retiring or ‘slowing down’ as he celebrates 60 years as a forecourt attendant at the Topaz, or soon to be 'Circle K', garage in Mitchelstown.
Pakie’s career with the service station began under the management of William Harrington when he left school as a 14 year-old and told The Avondhu this week that he has 'loved every minute of it'.
“I was content from the very beginning and I have never looked to work anywhere else. I love meeting our customers and the owners have always been very good to me.”
Pakie continues to work three days a week, taking his job very seriously but said the positions of forecourt attendants appear to be on the decline.
“I’ve noticed that there doesn’t seem to be as many forecourt attendants as before, but customers really appreciate us and we have our regulars here because they love the service we provide.”
With 60 years experience, Pakie has seen it all, but says the petrol scarcity in the 1970’s when Ireland was just settling into EEC membership and the Yom Kippur War broke out between Israel and the Arab states resulting in the price of oil quadrupling in price, was a challenging time.
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