The McDonald's Grimace Lore You Didn't Know You Needed

You may have heard quite a bit about Grimace in the past couple of months — a lot about Grimace actually. McDonald's recently celebrated the fuzzy purple creature's birthday in June 2023, releasing not just a Grimace-themed meal but also Grimace's very own milkshake. With all the buzz around our old pal Grimace, you may be surprised to learn that McDonald's gave quite a bit of lore and mythos to this old mascot. In fact, Grimace isn't the only member of his species — he's got a whole family. 

As TODAY.com explains, Grimace actually has an Irish uncle by the name of Uncle O'Grimacey. Dressed in stereotypical Irish green, Uncle O'Grimacey doesn't walk around in the buff like his nephew — instead, old Uncle O'Grimacey wears a cob hat, vest, and the traditional Irish cane known as a shillelagh. Like his nephew, Uncle O'Grimacey was associated with a specialty milkshake: the Shamrock Shake. Commercials from the era of Uncle O'Grimacey (he was first introduced in 1975) present him as the harbinger of the green-colored shake. The appearance of the furry green mascot signified that the shake would be making its seasonal return once more.

But whatever happened to Uncle O'Grimacey? Where did he go and why are there such scant mentions of him? To determine the fate of Grimace's uncle, we'll have to examine an old, obscure rumor that involves one of the Uncle O'Grimacey actors, the city of Philadelphia, and the Irish Republican Army.

When you're looking for a good milkshake, you probably don't also think of politics. But according to one rumor, Uncle O'Grimacey — or the actor portraying him at the time — had some very bold opinions about the Irish Republican Army and the United Kingdom.

The rumor is that an actor portraying Grimace's friendly green uncle at a promotional event in Philadelphia in 1978 suddenly began to throw out politically-charged statements, most of which praised the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. However, there are no records of any such event happening in Philadelphia, or anywhere else. One local news team speculates that the rumor could very well have roots in a 1997 article published by the satirist/humorist website The Onion.

Even if the alleged Philadelphia incident isn't true, it's no secret that McDonald's phased out Uncle O'Grimacey along with the other McDonaldland characters in the ensuing years. The reasons for this are much more realistic: The characters simply weren't "hip" or marketable anymore and McDonald's wanted to clean up its image by being more sophisticated. But with the return of Grimace and his resulting popularity, who knows? We may start to see a few old faces on the sides of Happy Meals once again.

Now, if Grimace has an uncle, that would mean he has other family members, too. In a commercial from 1999, it appears that Grimace has two aunts by the names of Millie and Tillie. And according to a recent McDonald's press release announcing Grimace's birthday, we learn that Grimace also has a grandmother by the name of Winky. It is unclear if Grimace has any more relatives that we aren't aware of, but evidence is mounting that the purple milkshake-drinking mascot has quite a large family. 

Even more surprising, if McDonald's merchandise is to be believed, Grimace (who is actually a taste bud) hails from a place that's called Grimace Island. The mysterious home of Grimace is first mentioned in the animated late '90s cartoon "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald" in an episode titled "The Legend of Grimace Island," in which other members of Grimace's family are shown. 

While Grimace's family, such as his fuzzy green Irish uncle and his two aunts, have yet to make an appearance again, Grimace continues to remain a popular and beloved figure in the McDonald's community. And, in a way, don't we all consider Grimace to be a part of our family?