Episodes

  • Chapter 1: Genesis

    Chapter 1: Genesis
    Sep 29 2021
    A sensational bigamy trial and a historical interest in kelp are among the tales told in this first episode, which explores the back-story of the McMullan family from the plantations of the 17th century through until the birth of Maxol’s founders.
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    12 mins
  • Chapter 2: Fuel

    Chapter 2: Fuel
    Sep 29 2021
    Remarkable ties with Michael Collins, the tragedy of the Somme and the evolution of the motor car industry form the backdrop as we follow founding father William McMullan from the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup Race through to his ingenious contract with the Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Company at the end of the Great War.
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    25 mins
  • Chapter 3: Roar

    Chapter 3: Roar
    Sep 29 2021
    McMullan Brothers is born into a world of pogroms, riots, partition, and civil war; the directors hold their nerve and are running the biggest motor fleet in Ireland by the mid-20s. There are pay-rises all round but the relationship between the McMullan brothers reaches boiling point.
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    11 mins
  • Chapter 4: Turbulence

    Chapter 4: Turbulence
    Sep 29 2021
    The oil industry rides out the Great Depression as McMullan’s stalwarts like the mysterious Major McMahon, Wimbledon champion Jean Borotra and golfing great Cecil Ewing make their mark. Shell pile on the pressure but a new generation of McMullans is coming to the fore.
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    28 mins
  • Chapter 5: Emergency

    Chapter 5: Emergency
    Sep 29 2021
    With Europe decimated by war, McMullans finds itself swallowed up by government ministries on both sides of the Irish border. The Boss takes a new wife, as do his two oldest sons, while everyone waits patiently for a post-war boom.
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    12 mins
  • Chapter 6: Solus

    Chapter 6: Solus
    Sep 29 2021
    The boom strikes but the McMullans face severe pressure from the multinational oil giants and the solus system. The advent of diesel and a joint venture to establish Kosangas help save the day. Global politics comes into play with crises in Iran and the Suez leading to the birth of the Whitegate Refinery.
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    33 mins
  • Chapter 7: Swing

    Chapter 7: Swing
    Sep 29 2021
    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.
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    54 mins
  • Chapter 8: Strike

    Chapter 8: Strike
    Sep 29 2021
    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.
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    38 mins