A Waterford city based coal and fuel company which goes back to 1957 has closed its doors for the last time.
Walsh's Coal and Solid Fuel Merchants in St. John's Park in the city started trading for the first time 63 years ago under local man Kevin Walsh.
Walsh's has been a family business since, employing three members of the Walsh family in more recent times.
However, in the past week it has closed its doors for good, marking the end of an era, not just for the Walsh family but the very many loyal customers it has served over the years.
Bill Walsh told Damien Tiernan on Deise Today that the family members are all close to retirement and this was primarily the reason they had made the hard decision to wind things up.
"It would be difficult to make a living if we were to hire people to do the work that we are doing; it wouldn't be possible. It's not feasible for us to keep going," he said.
Also, he said there were other costly factors like insurance, banking and accountancy charges, maintenance on the lorries and also the fact that there work is now very seasonal in terms of providing fuel.
Kathleen Walsh, meanwhile, said that their customers had been "so nice, and so loyal" and it was "a sad time" for the family.
Meanwhile, if you want to listen to the full Deise Today from this morning, click below!...
