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Irish Times
05-08-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Maxol CEO: ‘People in the South spend for today. They're still much more cautious in the North'
Maxol , a company founded by two brothers from a unionist background more than a century ago in Belfast and now operating from a headquarters near the Custom House in Dublin, knows a lot about the challenges of unification. In August 1919, the McMullan brothers, William and JG, from Donaghadee in Co Down took Stand No. 13 at the Dublin Horse Show to launch their new wares, including a range of motor oils that would prove to be the key to the family's fortunes for a century. Despite the challenges soon to come, including the War of Independence, partition and the Civil War, the McMullans were one of the biggest importers of oil on the island within the following decade. Today, the still family-owned business is known as Maxol, has revenues of €750 million from its operation on both sides of the Border and produced a profit of nearly €33 million last year, according to its chief executive, Brian Donaldson. READ MORE Throughout, the business has reflected the changes on the island of Ireland over the past century, and more. Starting off as one business, it broke apart into two from the 1930s, with separate operations in Northern Ireland and the Republic. The Troubles deepened the gap. The Northern company operated from Ormeau Road offices, while Dublin was run from the now demolished Apollo House on Tara Street. 'It took 3½ hours to drive between the two,' says Donaldson, with people from Dublin picked up at Belfast's train station for board meetings, and brought back. 'I wouldn't have known my counterparts. People grew further and further apart. A lot of it was down to concern about travelling across the Border. Not about religious or political views, but just people feeling for their own safety.' The wheel began to turn in the early 1990s under Donaldson's predecessor, the Skerries, Co Dublin-born Tom Noonan, who sought to bring the two operations together after he was appointed general manager. Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson. Last year, the company said it had invested €65 million across the island, including the purchase of seven stations in Leinster previously under the Circle K brand and refurbishments for nearly 20 more. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Noonan began 'cleverly', says the Newtownards, Co Down-born Donaldson, by seeking ideas – covering everything from product supply, IT, marketing, 'even ways of making sure that customers order full loads, not part loads'. However, an understandable nervousness remained. He recalls a dinner in the early 1990s with a Dublin colleague in Bushmills, Co Antrim, when the latter was uncomfortable with the display of Union flags. The unification work soon began to make strides, however, culminating in a successful day in 1995 when staff from all parts of the island were brought together to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary. 'We hired a train, brought up all of our Southern colleagues and bussed them in a convoy from Belfast with all of our Northern colleagues to Down Royal races. We had one hell of a party, but the hard yards had been done by then,' he says. Not everyone bought into the new world, and some left. In time, the finance, IT and marketing departments moved to Dublin, but 'a very generous redundancy package' eased the separation. The Belfast office on the Ormeau Road, one that had been there since the early 1920s, finally closed in July 2020, reflecting, perhaps, the one third/two-thirds division of revenues between Northern Ireland and the Republic. The changes pioneered by Noonan and his colleague Paul Cran left Maxol in a better position to deal with the huge increase in competition that took place with the arrival of the UK supermarket multiples into Northern Ireland. The challenge was led by Tesco, who bought Stewarts Supermarkets in 1997. 'Then Asda came, Sainsbury's came. In a very short time, the whole geography of the Northern Ireland market was seriously impacted,' he says. The big retailers opened filling stations at their stores, offering cut-price fuels, while the rapid growth in the volume of laundered fuel illegally produced by paramilitaries 'reduced the legitimate market by 50 per cent'. The threat posed by the paramilitaries, especially the IRA – both before and after the Belfast Agreement – partly explains the departure from Northern Ireland of the big oil companies from directly owning filling stations. 'There was an awful lot of damage done to the legitimate trade, and the environment. That's why you saw companies like BP sell up, Shell sell up. They got tired, too small a market, too difficult to make money in.' Entertainer Brendan Grace in Maxol's 'Free The Nipper' TV advertising campaign, one of the most successful of the 1980s With its own stations, Maxol adopted a zero-tolerance approach: 'We had a programme called 'Fuels You Can Trust'. We then introduced spot testing. If we found that product wasn't our product, then we de-branded the station,' he explains. Today, Donaldson gives much of the credit for dealing with the illegal fuels to Peter Mandelson, who served as Labour's Northern Ireland secretary between October 1999 and January 2001. 'We did lots of deputations to secretaries of State. Then, Mandelson looked at what resources were needed by HM Revenue and Customs. Then they started getting on top of it.' Checks imposed since by HMRC and Revenue in Dublin have strengthened significantly, with digital tracking of fuel even before it has been imported offering 'a complete 360 degrees, so they can track everything'. Today, Maxol has 252 service stations on the island – with 152 in the Republic and 100 in Northern Ireland. 'Of those 252, we own about 126. The majority of which are all freehold. We don't like doing leases,' he says. In the past, Maxol had up to 400 filling stations in the Republic alone, with 200 more in Northern Ireland, but some of those 'in the old days would have been a couple of pumps beside a pub'. Forty per cent of the company's revenues no longer have anything to do with fuel, with more and more emphasis placed on the sale of food and other goods in the company's own Maxol-branded shops. 'Being a fuel retailer is very different from being a convenience retailer today. They're different skills,' says Donaldson, speaking in his Custom House Quay office, 'It's a different type of animal.' The reunited Maxol supplies its stores differently, with BWG filling its shelves in the Republic and the Henderson Group doing so in Northern Ireland. The two parts of the island are different markets, with different tastes and attitudes, and far less disposable income in Northern Ireland, with higher wages and a higher cost of living in the Republic. 'People in the South live for today, and spend for today. In Northern Ireland, they're still very much more cautious. They still have this thing, 'Well, maybe I really shouldn't buy that takeaway coffee, or maybe I shouldn't buy that sandwich.' 'People will work to a budget more in the North than what you might find in the South, regardless of their demographic class. What we have been trying to do is to make sure our offer is fit for each of those types of consumers.' Different planning rules impact, too, because filling station stores in the Republic must be kept below 100 sq m, unless it can be shown that a new store would not hurt existing retail nearby. 'In Northern Ireland, the stores typically are much larger,' says Donaldson, 'Some will be 300, 400 sq m. It's one of the things that we have to continue to push for change on in the Republic.' Last year, the company said it had invested €65 million across the island, including the purchase of seven stations in Leinster previously under the Circle K brand and refurbishments for nearly 20 more. In a bid to bring non-fuel revenues beyond the 50 per cent mark, new food outlets, such as Burger City, Burger King, Supermac's, and Wendy's, are, or have been, introduced. Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson at Mulhuddart - M3 service station. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Talks also are under way with Dunnes Stores about expanding its sale of the latter's Simply Better ready meals: 'They're fair and honest to deal with,' he says. The relationship between the companies began 18 months ago. Before meeting The Irish Times, Donaldson had begun his day at 7am at a Maxol station in Templeogue, Dublin, where they are piloting some new ideas. 'We want to make sure that everything works, testing it with the consumers' lens,' he says. 'We have decided on the range which we think is right, so it could be a range of about 420 items.' Equally, Maxol has invested heavily in high-speed EV chargers at some of its stations, though Donaldson sounds less than convinced that EVs are the future of motoring. So far, Maxol has four so-called rapid EV hubs, including one under way at the Long Mile Road in Dublin. Each requires 1 megawatt of energy. However, the use of the hubs is not yet 'where they need to be to justify the investment'. Recently, he met former minister for the environment Eamon Ryan: 'I told him that 83 per cent of all cars still being sold have some form of internal combustion engine (ICE). I drive a plug-in hybrid because I need to have that certainty. 'Yes, we have Teslas in the fleet for people who don't do as many miles. That's fine. The other thing I said is that the average life of a car is 12 years. So, there's still a long period in which those cars have to be serviced,' he says. Incentives that encouraged people 'to move from a full ICE to a hybrid, then potentially to a plug-in and then potentially to a full EV' should be considered by the Government, he argues: 'People have to have confidence.' [ If electric vehicles are the future, additional State support is required Opens in new window ] Commercial fleets have embraced EVs, but partly for tax reasons: 'But the private household, unless you're a high-income earner, is sticking with a hybrid or a plug-in. They haven't quite made that switch. 'And it's even more pronounced in Northern Ireland if you're looking for differences where the EV percentage of new car sales is less than what it is in the Republic.' EVs will change the fuel business, however, since companies that have traditionally had nothing to do with it, such as fast-food chain McDonald's, are beginning to offer high-speed charging. 'Everyone has to understand the customer. If you're in the middle of a supermarket car park late at night, would you feel safe charging your car? Lots of people wouldn't.'
The 42
03-08-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Spurs-bound Melia ends goal-wait as St Pat's mark return from Estonia with victory
Waterford 0 St Patrick's Athletic 2 Adrian Flanagan reports from RSC MASON MELIA ENDED a wait of six games for a goal as his first-half strike proved pivotal for St. Patrick's Athletic as they returned from Estonia to record a 2-0 win over Waterford FC in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division at the RSC on Sunday afternoon. The Tottenham Hotspur-bound striker timed his run to perfection to finish an 18th-minute through ball from Kian Leavy to finish, and after they missed a host of chances to extend their lead, it was substitute Conor Carthy who sealed a card-ridden affair six minutes from time. From the outside, Waterford looked hesitant in defence with Melia unlucky not to convert a Leavy delivery inside five minutes before Conan Noonan had a big chance for the hosts at the other end two minutes later, but he couldn't get a vital touch on the end of Finlay Armstrong's delivery. Advertisement Noonan and Tommy Lonegan linked up superbly inside the penalty area on 20 minutes with the latter getting on the ball on the left, but his shot was blocked out for a corner as the game started at a frantic tempo. It was the Inchicore side that broke the deadlock with 18 minutes on the clock when Kian Leavy picked up possession of the ball in the middle of the park before releasing Mason Melia, who was kept onside by Ryan Burke, and the Tottenham Hotspur-bound striker fired past the helpless Stephen McMullan. Tommy Lonergan had a penalty appeal turned down on 29 minutes when he went down under a challenge from Anto Breslin, but referee Daniel Murphy waved away appeals, before Mason Melia could have doubled the lead six minutes before the break only to fire inches wide. Lonergan saw a looping header just clear Joseph Anang's crossbar on the stroke of half-time before the visitors started the second-half on the front foot with a big chance coming to their striker just shy of the hour-mark. Leavy and Kavanagh linked up in the middle of the park with the latter playing Melia in between the Waterford defence, but his effort that was arrowed for the near post was turned out by McMullan before Ryan Burke blocked away an effort from captain Joe Redmond on 64 minutes. European match-winner, Jake Mulraney, latched onto a superb through ball from Kavanagh on 70 minutes, but his angled effort was turned around the posts by Stephen McMullan as the hosts struggled to get a foothold in the game. Referee Daniel Murphy lost the run of himself and his yellow card ten minutes from time as he showed it six times in the direction of players and management as tempers frayed after a tackle from Josh Miles on Brandon Kavanagh. Second-half substitute Conor Carthy settled the game for the South Dublin outfit on 84 minutes when he peeled off his marker to get on the end of Kavanagh's teasing left-wing corner-kick to beat keeper McMullan with a left-footed finish from close-range. WATERFORD FC: McMullan; Horton (Miles 59), Boyle (Coyle 84), Leahy, Burke; Armstrong (Dempsey 59); Rossiter (Glenfield 82), McDonald (Olayinka 59); Lonergan, Amond, Noonan. ST. PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Anang; Sjoberg, Redmond, Grivosti, Breslin (Kazeem 38); Lennon, Leavy, Kavanagh (Robinson 90), Forrester (Baggley 90), Mulraney (Carthy 75); Melia (Power 75). Referee: Daniel Murphy (Dublin).
Sunday World
14-07-2025
- Sunday World
Loyalist bomber and Loughlinisland massacre suspect led part of Orange Order parade
Gorman McMullan (71) is a flag carrier in the well-known UVF Regimental Band from east Belfast. Gormy McMullan a notorious loyalist terrorist who featured in an RTÉ documentary about the murder of six Catholics during the Troubles, was out marching with the East Belfast band yesterday. McMullan, a serial jailbird was a leading suspect in the shocking Loughinisland massacre, is to tie the knot with stunning Asian beauty Bannapon Nuch Jathasan. Interior of O'Toole's bar in Loughinisland the morning after the UVF shot dead 6 people. A convicted loyalist bomber and major suspect in the shocking Loughinisland massacre stepped out in the summer sunshine on Saturday to lead part of the largest Orange Order parade in Northern Ireland, the Sunday World can reveal. Gorman McMullan (71) is a flag carrier in the well-known UVF Regimental Band from east Belfast. And despite his age, McMullan was one of the front runners in the colour party as the khaki-clad marching men made their way into Belfast city centre to meet up with other lodges and bands. McMullan and his mates appeared to revel in the applause they drew from onlookers who cheered loudly as the bandsmen passed by. He had an air of respectability about him as he kept perfect step on his seven-mile journey through the streets of the city over the weekend. Interior of O'Toole's bar in Loughinisland the morning after the UVF shot dead 6 people. He told the Sunday World: 'I've had a great day. It's half-time, I've had a wee drink and we are about to start our journey home.' But it was clear that very few of those standing on the sidelines had any idea that the flag-carrying pensioner has in fact a lengthy loyalist paramilitary past. And that he was still a suspect in one of the worst atrocities of the entire Troubles. Six men died when the UVF carried out a machine-gun attack on the Heights Bar in the sleepy Catholic village of Loughinisalnd in rural Co Down. Five others were seriously wounded. Shortly after 10pm on June 18, 1994, two UVF gunmen walked into the packed pub and shouted 'Fenian bastards' before opening fire on the customers who were watching Ireland playing in the World Cup. The dead were Adrian Rogan (34), Daniel McCreanor (59), Eamon Byrne (59), Patrick O'Hare (35), Barney Green (87) and Malcolm Jenkinson (53). As the gunmen fled to their red Triumph Acclaim car, they were heard to be laughing at the bloody handiwork they left back in the bar. Gormy McMullan is still suspected of being the getaway driver of the vehicle, which was found abandoned in a field between Crossgar and Ballynahinch the following day. No Stone Unturned – an award-winning documentary by Alex Gibney on the atrocity – names McMullan as the 41-year-old getaway driver. Gormy McMullan a notorious loyalist terrorist. News in 90 Seconds - Monday July 14th And a bestselling book Shooting Crows by investigative reporter Trevor Birnie does the same. McMullan was one of several suspects arrested and questioned after the attack, but he was never charged. Decked out in a replica World War I army uniform complete with woollen tunic and puttee leg wraps, Gormy – as McMullan is known in loyalist circles – appeared to weaken in the searing heat as the parade pulled up outside Belfast City Hall for a break. 'Our band's uniform is identical to what the men wore in World War One,' said McMullan. And the veteran loyalist added: 'We even wear long johns underwear, so we are melted in the heat.' It's exactly a year ago this week since the Sunday World revealed that former ladies man McMullan had decided to tie the knot with Asian beauty, Bannapon Nuch Jathasan. A tiler by trade and a well-known singer in the loyalist pubs and clubs in east Belfast, McMullan was inundated with messages of congratulations and goodwill. It is understood the couple met two years ago during one of Gormy's many trips to Pattaya in Thailand. He is known to enjoy extended holidays to the tourist hotspots of Thailand and Vietnam. And he took to Facebook to officially announce his engagement. And when the Sunday World contacted him days later to pass on our regards, Gormy said: 'Aye dead on. Thanks very much.' He also remained tight-lipped regarding exactly where the couple planned to live after they tie the knot. On Saturday, Belfast businessman Jim Murtagh, who has known McMullan from childhood, told us: 'I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think Gormy and Bam Bam got married recently. I know, she refers to him as her husband,' Originally from the Clarawood estate in east Belfast, McMullan first came to the attention of the authorities shortly after the Troubles erupted in August 1969. At that time, he was a member of the ruthless loyalist paramilitary group the Red Hand Commando. And he was caught 'red-handed' blowing up the Catholic-owned Hillfoot Bar on the edge of the Braniel estate. McMullan was sent down for eight years. Behind bars, McMullan built up a close relationship with members of the notorious Shankill Butchers murder gang, including its psycho leader Lenny Murphy. In a BBC TV documentary called Loyalists, McMullan told veteran journalist Peter Taylor he believed Lenny Murphy and his mates in the Shankill Butchers were 'a decent bunch of lads'. On his release from prison, McMullan maintained his new-found links with the Shankill Road UVF and he took part in and armed robbery at a meat plant in the Woodvale area. But he was caught again and this time he went down for five years. In 1985, McMullan was scooped at the ferry port of Stranraer. Travelling to Scotland to see his beloved Rangers, he refused to fill in a Disembarkation Card – a requirement under the Prevention of Terrorism Act – and he was arrested. An associate who was with him was fined £100. But McMullan was sent to Barlinnie Prison for 30 days. In a recent exchange with the Sunday World, McMullan declined to discuss his paramilitary past. 'I'm expecting big things from the Rangers this season,' was all he said. When we challenged Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland secretary, the Reverend Mervyn Gibson, about people with a paramilitary criminal past marching in Orange Order parades, he told us: 'If they have gone to prison and paid their debt to society, then there is nothing to stop them.'
The 42
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Waterford overcome Cork to move up to seventh
Waterford 2 Cork City 0 Adrian Flanagan reports from the RSC FIRST-HALF goals from Sam Glenfield and Tommy Lonergan steered Waterford FC to bragging rights over Cork City in their SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division Munster derby clash at a sun-drenched RSC. Goalkeeper Stephen McMullan returned to the starting team with a man-of-the-match display, producing a couple of outstanding saves to keep the bottom side in the division at bay. The Waterford stopper denied Kitt Nelson and Cathal O'Sullivan as Glenfield's stunner and Lonergan's super header moved the Blues up to seventh spot in the division. After Ryan Burke went close when heading Conan Noonan's right-wing corner inches wide, the Blues were celebrating striking the front eight minutes later. Advertisement Defender Fiacre Kelleher tried to play a short clearance to Evan McLaughlin, who looked to have been fouled when dispossessed by Sam Glenfield, and he arrowed an unstoppable right-footed shot from 20 yards past David Odumosu. Malik Dijksteel ghosted past three tackles out on the left with considerable ease moments later, only to see his effort trickle inches wide of McMullan's far post. Tommy Lonergan then should have had a penalty when replays showed he was onside when hacked down by Odumosu. The striker was celebrating doubling the Blues' lead three minutes later. Padraig Amond laid the ball back to Grant Horton, who put in a superb ball. Lonergan produced an instinctive header that saw it loop over the head of the Cork netminder. McMullan maintained his side's two-goal cushion with a brilliant double save just before the break. He first got down low to save a 25-yarder from Nelson before getting the faintest of touches to turn an Evan McLaughlin effort onto the crossbar. McMullan had to be at his best again on the hour mark for the Blues when Nelson turned provider for O'Sullivan, but the teenager's left-footed strike was tipped over the crossbar. Charlie Lutz was also denied by the Blues' netminder after cutting in from the left. But from that point on, the expected late Cork rally never materialised, as the hosts saw the game out with ease. Waterford FC: McMullan; Horton, Boyle, Leahy, Burke; White (Dempsey 58), McDonald (McMenamy 83), Glenfield (Olayinka 45); Lonergan, Amond, Noonan (McCormack 83). Cork City: Odumosu; Crowley, Feely (Murray 76), Kelleher, Kieran; Bolger (Anderson 28), O'Sullivan, Dijksteel, McLaughlin; Nelson, Maguire (Lutz 64). Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin). Attendance: 3,043
RTÉ News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Waterford find their spark to put Cork deeper in mire
First-half goals from Sam Glenfield and Tommy Lonergan steered Waterford FC to bragging rights over Cork City in their SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division Munster derby clash at a sun-drenched RSC in a game where goalkeeper Stephen McMullan returned to the starting team with a man-of the-match display. McMullan produced a couple of outstandings saves to keep the bottom side in the division at bay as he denied Kitt Nelson and Cathal O'Sullivan. Glenfield's stunner and Lonergan's super header moved the Blues up to seventh spot in the table. After Ryan Burke went close with a brilliant header on 13 minutes when heading Conan Noonan's right-wing corner inches wide, the Blues were celebrating striking the front eight minutes later. Defender Fiacre Kelleher tried to play a short clearance to Evan McLaughlin, who looked to have been fouled when dispossessed by Glenfield, who arrowed an unstoppable right-footed shot from 20 yards past David Odumosu. Malik Dijksteel ghosted past three tackles out on the left with considerable ease 60 seconds later only to see his effort trickled inches wide of McMullan's far post before Lonergan should have had penalty on 34 minutes when replays showed that he was onside when hacked down by keeper Odumosu. The striker was celebrating doubling the Blues' lead three minutes with a header of quality. Padraig Amond laid the ball back to Grant Horton, who put in a superb ball that saw Lonergan get in an instinctive header that looped over the head of the Cork netminder. It was the brilliance of keeper McMullan that maintained his side's two-goal cushion with a smashing double save on 44 minutes. He firstly got down low to save a 25-yarder from Nelson before getting the faintest of touches to turn an Evan McLaughlin effort onto the crossbar. McMullan was the hero on the hour mark for the Blues when Nelson turned provider for O'Sullivan, but his left-footed strike was tipped over the crossbar before Charlie Lutz was also denied by the home stopper after cutting in from the left on 75 minutes as the hosts saw the game out with ease. Waterford FC: McMullan; Horton, Boyle, Leahy, Burke; White (Dempsey 58), McDonald (McMenamy 83), Glenfield (Olayinka 45); Lonergan, Amond, Noonan (McCormack 83).
