‘I Like To Round My Petrol Off To €20:00 Even’: Tales From The Forecourt

A COUNTY Waterford man re-fuelling his car has decided against sticking with his current €19.94 bill, opting instead to go all-in and risk an even 20 euro, a move he regularly makes when topping up on fuel.

Cathal Byrne stopped at his local Applegreen on the Waterford Road out of Tramore less than five minutes ago, and with only a 20 euro note and no wallet in his pocket, set about putting petrol into his car.

Aiming for as close to 20 even as possible without going over, Byrne stopped pumping at €19.36 before inching his way up to €19.94 via the use of several perfectly timed squeezes of the trigger handle.

With nothing to prove to anybody, the normally rational father of none decided that he wasn’t going to leave the Irish filling station with 6c in coppers; he was going to pay €20 in cash for €20 worth of petrol, regardless of the risks involved.

“We’ve been begging him to reconsider, but it’s like he’s lost his mind,” said Amanda Kelly, one of dozens of onlookers engrossed in the unfolding drama.

“We said, think of the consequences of going even one cent over, and having to admit to the cashier that you’ve only got a twenty, not even an extra cent in the ashtray of the car! But he doesn’t listen to us; he’s going to go for it, the madman!”

Update: There has been a dramatic escalation in events at the Applegreen station, as Cathal Byrne has inched his pump total from €19.94 to €19.98. Eyewitnesses have tried convincing him that this 4c increase is the smallest he’s capable of making, with absolutely no way of making the action pump half that size which would land him on €20. Byrne’s family have been contacted. Again, stay tuned for more updates.