Millie to bow out after 60 years serving motorists

“Drive in that car and we’ll give it an ‘aul wash for ya.”

That’s more or less the catchphrase that made famous Millie Walsh’s Maxol at The Dublin Bridge in Mullingar.

But after 38 years there, and 20 years working in the motor trade elsewhere before that, Millie has announced he is bowing out from the business from the end of this month.

Hugely popular, Millie has supplied cars with petrol, homes with heat, children with sweets, readers with newspapers – and washed thousands of cars for those who like their motors shiny.

His fame even brought him to national attention, with TV appearances, and an interview with RTÉ’s Joe Duffy that gained him a host of fans. In 2023, he was the subject of a film, ‘Millie’s Maxol Magic’, made by Ethan Scally and Conor English, which sold out during a three-night run in Mullingar.

The father of Wayne, Regina and Koreen, Millie was also awarded the Mullingar Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement/Contribution award in 2023.

While he is retiring, Millie already has his next role lined up: he is the new sacristan of St Paul’s Church.

Announcing his plans to retire via a short video posted on social media by Clare Burke, who works with him, Millie said his customers had made the job easy: “It was a pleasure to come in very morning at 6.30 and open there and meet so many faces – old faces, young faces – and indeed, lovely faces! That was the enjoyment bit of it, and I will never forget that,” he said.

Big-hearted Millie has since said that since word got out that he was retiring, he has had customers offer him gifts and cards – but he has appealed to them instead to make a donation to the Irish Kidney Association, “which I’m sure many of you know is very close to my heart”, he said. Anyone who wishes to do so can find the appeal on GoFundMe by looking up ‘Millie is retiring’.