Show Notes
This final episode tells the 20th‑century story of Corkagh through the Colley family, into which Edie Finlay married. Turtle Bunbury traces their roots from dastardly Tudor schemers and the Duke of Wellington's ancestors to George Colley's deaf engineer‑motorist world at Corkagh, their close links to Titanic victim Eddie Colley, novelist Elizabeth Bowen and actor Ralph Fiennes, as well as the motor‑mad Dudley Colley with his "Yellow Peril" car and Corkagh Dairies. As revolution, world wars and changing economics close in, the house is finally sold and demolished in 1960, the estate reborn as Corkagh Park – bringing this long saga from medieval marshland to modern public amenity.
More from The Turtle Bunbury Podcast
The final episdoe of the series takes on the 21st century. The last of the original Maxol depots are phased out as a new generation of award-winning service stations begin to appear across the island. The company rides out the economic recession and turns its attention to green energy options, while Covid 19 rears its head just as Maxol prepares to mark its centenary.
The company pushes into third place in the race to be Ireland's largest petrol retailer with the 'Deal of the Decade' and a renewed focus on retail. A transformative restructure creates the Maxol Group, while a reunification of management from 'north and south' becomes a corporate blueprint.
Maxol breaks free from Shell and launches a rebrand media blitz with new colours, a massively successful advertising campaign (Free a Nipper!) and some immaculately timed sporting sponsorship. Importing fuel into Drogheda and rationalisation are among the way to confront the Mandatory Regime and Price Control.
The Troubles in Northern Ireland, two major global oil crises and a glut of domestic strikes piles on the pressure as the next generation of McMullans take the helm. The company homes in on improving stations, staff and trucks, while a new venture in central heating is launched.
The Maxol brand is born in an age of newness from forecourts, pumps and trucks to strategies and uniforms. Drivers such as Billy 'True Gel' Murray and Rasher Halligan assert their rights at the East Wall depot while the death of the Boss paves the way for new management in Northern Ireland.