4
Murphy's sponsors
musical and historical
pageant
Primus holds crown
cork campaign
Around 8.30 each morning in Cork the Murphys lorries
pass out through the brewery gates fully laden with kegs
of Murphy's Stout and Heineken lager. One of those lor
ries is manned by driver Eugene Fitzpatrick and his mate
Christy Mullane. Delivery notes in hand, they plan their
route for the day.From pub to pub, big ones and small on
es, sometimes offloading 25 kegs, sometimes just three.
And at every stop doing all they can to ensure the custo
mer is satisfied. A day out on the road with Eugene and
Christy.
Paperwork
Car Tyre
Patience
New lorry
V
SIXTY MILES
FROM PUB TO
1The replica of the mediaeval galley
"Dim Riv" sails up the Thames to
Greenwich as part of the folklore
pageant which preceded the concert.
2) Accompanied by bagpipe music,
Murphy's special guests walk through
the streets of Greenwich on their way to
the concert.
Murphy's recent sponsoring of the
"Granuaile", the top-of-the-bill
concert at the Greenwich Arts Festival
in England, turned out to be a
spectacular success. This was the first
time that Murphy's had sponsored an
event in England and it clearly
reflected the growing popularity of
Murphy's Stout on the U.K. market
since its launch there in 1985.
The Granuaile concert consists of
songs telling about the life of Grace
O'Malley, the famous Irish head of
state, who sailed from Ireland to
London in 1593 to meet Queen
Elizabeth I.This exceptional meeting
is recalled in the concert.The sailing
voyage by Grace O'Malley along the
Thames was re-enacted by a replica of
the galley "Dim Riv", complete with
the Murphy's Stout logo on the
mainsail.
The concert was a tremendous
success.The composer of Granuaile is
Shaun Davey, who also composed the
music for the Murphy's TVspot. Very
aptly, the orchestra played the jingle
from the Murphy's commercial during
the encore.
Primus beer was the centre of great interest in Zaïre in the first half of this year
thanks to a large-scale promotional campaign which attracted much consumer
interest. Pictures were printed on the insides of the Primus crown corks and
people who collected enough of the same set of pictures could win superb prizes.
The main prizes were four cars, plus competitors also had a change to win a
colourTVset or a motorcycle. The aim of the promotional campaign was to
strengthen brand loyalty amongst existing Primus drinkers and to persuade those
who had never tried the beer to sample the Primus taste.The campaign lasted
several months and was a great succes for the Bralima brewery.
It's a dull day at the end of July. A
steady drizzle makes the
countryside around Cork seem
rather cheerless. And yet the
raindrops cannot mask the beauty of
the landscape. Rain and Ireland go
hand in hand, it seems. At least until
the afternoon, when the sun breaks
through and reveals the superb
countryside in all its glory.
For us the day's work starts at 8.45
a.m.The lorry has already been
loaded with 158 kegs and we've picked
up all the paperwork we'll need on the
journey. At the brewery gate there is a
brief stop for a check by the porter.
Without his signature on the waybill to
say that the kegs are securely loaded,
we wouldn't get off the site.
Eugene pulls out on to the road, and
turns eastwards on the start of the
route that the two of them cover once
every fortnight. More than 60 miles,
mostly along narrow roads, through
the rolling hills to the east of Cork.
Not a person to be seen for miles and
miles. Luckily, there's no oncoming
traffic, as the road is just wide enough
for the lorry.
It is three quarters of an hour later
before the first pub appears in the
distance and Eugene and Christy pull
on their working gloves for the first
time that day.
"Being out and about and being
indepent, that's what we like about
our work. We can decide for ourselves
what route we'll be taking. We know
it's no use calling at certain pubs
before 10 a.m., so we make allowance
for that when planning the route",
says Christy Mullanewho has worked
for Murphy's for ten years.
This method of route planning might
perhaps raise some eyebrows at other
Heineken operating companies.
Michael Murphy, traffic manager at
the Irish brewery, explains: "Of
course we've considered other
working methods, but we found each
time that our present system works
best in Ireland. The lads on the lorry
know exactly when they have to call at
a certain place and they themselves
work out the most efficient route.
Besides, we think it's very important
for them to be independent, as that
gives them job satisfaction."
But it's not all a bed of roses. The job
also has its less pleasant aspects. "It's
not much fun when it rains, which is
fairly oftenWhen you're busy loading
and unloading you get hot and sweaty
and that's uncomfortable when it's
raining", says Eugene, who swapped
The new DA F1900 can carry a
maximum load of 160 kegs of 50 litres
each.
The outstai
Bralima's Mr. Kruidenier hands over the car keys to a happy winner.
his job as a thatcher for a place behind
the big steering wheel of a Murphy's
lorry two years ago.
To unload the heavy kegs Eugene and
Christy use an old car tyre.TTie tyre is
placed on the ground next to the lorry
and the keg is deftly turned and
allowed to drop.The car tyre cushions
its impact with a dull thud.Then they
roll the kegs along to the shed next to
the pubApart from kegs the lorry can
also carry C02 cylinders. Cylinders of
carbon dioxide for the dispensing unit
can be supplied to the landlords free
on request.
After that the empty kegs are loaded
on to the lorry and we move on to the
next pub where the performance is
repeated. A total of twenty delivery
addresses are planned on that day's
route.
Most pub owners receive their invoice
from Murphy's by postbut some want
to pay the deliverymen on the spot.
This often means that driver's mate
Christy Mullane has to be patient, for
it always takes a while before the
delivery has been checked and the
cheques signed.Time goes by and,
after a glance at the remaining stack of
delivery notes, I begin to wonder
Eugene Fitzpatrick inspects the load: a
good distribution of full and empty kegs
is crucial to the lorry's road handling.
Many pub
Eugene Fitzpatrick (left) and Christy Mullane with the
whether we'll be able to complete the
route on time. Even though Christy
has still not returned after ten
minutes, Eugene still seems quite
relaxed as he waits: "It's all part of the
job. We simply allow a little more time
for these customers". Their ability to
make an accurate estimate of the time
needed is demonstrated at the end of
the day. Their forecast that we'd be
arriving back at the brewery by about
5.30p.m. proves correct. It's 5.20p.m.
as we turn into the entrance, just in
time for the monthly get-together for
personnel inThe Kiln, the brewery's
reception building.
Eugene drives a DAF1900. On the
day that we went along the lorry had
only been in use at Murphy's for one
and a half weeks. Eugene is
enthusiastic about his new truck. "The
newness still hasn't worn off and the
gearbox in particular feels a bit tight,
but that will disappear as it gets run in
Otherwise it's a fine lorry." Michael
Murphy is doubly pleased. "It's
important that the people are content
with the equipment they have to work
with. Besides, the big advantage of
this DAF is that we can load more kegs
on to it, whilst the lorry is smaller,
which makes is easier to handle.That
comes in handy, especially in the
narrow streets of Cork."