Show Notes
In this episode, Turtle follows the rise and fall of the Finlay family, the Scottish‑Irish bankers who made Corkagh their home for nearly 200 years. Tracing their origins back to Scotland where Macbeth and Mary, Queen of Scots both played a part, it rolls through Thomas Finlay's 18th‑century Dublin bank and land purchases, through John Finlay's role in Grattan's Parliament, the Volunteers and the 1798 and 1803 crises, taking in a Swedish iron tycoon and Jonathan Swift's wish to have all bankers strung up. We the turn to later generations who planted Corkagh's trees, fought in the Boer War and died on the Western Front, Turtle traces how this one family's fortunes mirrored the booms, panics, rebellions and wars that shaped Ireland from the Georgian age to the aftermath of the First World War.
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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.