House of Guinness (2025) s01e06 Episode Script

1
Police! Police!
I was born on a Dublin street
Where the Royal drums did beat ♪
The loving English feet
They walked all over us ♪
And every single night
When me da would come home tight… ♪
Cochrane, get back here!
Fenian bastard! Get down!
Come out ye Black and Tans
Come out and fight me like a man ♪
Show your wife how you won medals
Down in Flanders ♪
Tell her how the IRA made you run… ♪
Move! Out the way!
Missus!
Miss Cochrane!
Miss!
Miss Cochrane!
Miss Cochrane! Miss!
Missus, you've got to come.
Those Saxon bastards
have taken your brother.
They've been picking up Brotherhood boys
all over Dublin.
-Wait there.
-Well, come quick, though!
Come out ye Black and Tans
Come out and fight me like a man ♪
Show your wife how you won medals
Down in Flanders ♪
Tell her how the IRA
Made you run like hell away… ♪
Iveagh House, sir.
The Fenians have crossed
the Canadian border.
Ah… News from the colony, sir.
An incursion in Dakota,
Irishmen and Indians.
-You've business with Mr. Guinness?
-Urgent business. Good day.
Well…
I've been given a message
to give to Mr. Guinness
on behalf of the poor people of Dublin.
What is the mood
between the brothers?
When a matter is trivial,
they shout at each other.
When it's important, they whisper.
But today they are silent,
which means this New York business
is more serious than serious.
Sir Arthur, Master Edward,
your legal counsel, Mr. Isaac Butt QC.
A gift for Mr. Guinness
from a representative of the Dublin poor.
Which Mr. Guinness?
It is a measure of your joint predicament
that it could be for either one of you.
If it is a response to election fraud,
perjury in the dock,
and somehow
getting away with it scot-free,
then it is for you, Arthur,
from the Catholics.
If, on the other hand,
word has reached Dublin
that the Guinness family is giving 15%
to the Fenians in New York,
funding their attacks on the British
with every bottle of Guinness sold,
then it is for you, Edward,
from the unionists.
Since today's business is New York,
I will claim it.
How kind.
Today's business is many things.
The government in Whitehall is responding
to increased Fenian activity
in the colonies,
specifically the Fenian incursion
into the Dominion of Canada.
Funded by the Guinness family,
thanks to you, Brother.
The British have issued
arrest warrants for Fenians
all over Dublin.
Fenian bastard.
But, as you will read in my legal advice,
the timing of these arrests
may work in your favor.
-How on earth--
-Ah, ah, ah. Please, Edward.
Just allow the genius that saved me
from jail to get you off the hook too.
Your agent Byron Hedges in New York
has done a very dangerous deal.
If word gets out,
even I won't be able to save you.
It would be the final blow
to your father's legacy.
Yes, I'm told by my contacts…
Ooh, your mysterious contacts.
…that if our licensed agent--
No, he's not our agent.
He's your fucking agent.
-Will you shut up? Let me finish.
-No, you shut up!
We have a guest.
You're behaving like a child!
-Every fucking time!
-Please, both of you.
My sources tell me that
if Byron Hedges withdraws his offer
from the Fenian Brotherhood in New York,
he will be found face down
in the Hudson River.
The deal will be exposed.
And the House of Guinness
will come crashing down.
Yes.
I've given your predicament much thought,
and I propose we do a deal.
Arrange a more discreet method of payment
in exchange for silence.
So, somebody trustworthy
will need to get a message to the Fenians.
I suggest we use the services
of your Mr. Rafferty.
I tried to contact him
but could not locate him
the whole of last evening.
I wonder if either of you might know
where Mr. Rafferty could be.
I got a meth lab zoso sticker
Rolled up in my pocket ♪
Got a 7-inch trigger finger
Don't know how to stop it ♪
Got a one-way piledriver
Nowhere left to use it ♪
I'm a Supercharged Freedom Fighter ♪
And I'm givin' it all to you ♪
Will you not stay for breakfast,
Mr. Rafferty?
Would you really have me
sit down for breakfast
with all the maids looking on?
Mr. Rafferty, you look so worried
that I might someday lose my mind
and try to make you official.
Rest assured, I have no intention
of feeling anything for you,
other than with my body.
Not ever.
No, no.
The servants are all awake.
For discretion, but mostly for fun,
you will exit like a thief in the night.
And if I break my fucking neck?
I will get another you.
Now go.
You're fucking insane, you know that?
Please excuse the intrusion,
but I have an urgent message.
We've finished our business. Go on.
It was delivered by a street boy
hardly able to keep breath
from running from the docks.
From the docks?
It's for you, Master Edward.
From a young lady called Ellen Cochrane.
Thank you, Potter.
I write to inform you
of troubling news.
This morning, alongside other men
from our organization,
my brother was taken
and imprisoned by police forces.
Once again, they persecute men
who have done nothing
but speak publicly about their beliefs.
I know we are on different sides,
but I must remind you of the other night,
of how our alliance has evolved.
I've offered help
with the New York situation,
and I hope you can do the same
with my situation.
I trust in your power and goodwill.
You know Ellen Cochrane
of the Fenian Brotherhood?
Edward.
Our lawyer asked you a question.
My God, your face.
Don't talk of God to me, Ellen.
Before you waste any words, I know
how you spent the night before last.
What are you talking about?
I have men take shifts
outside your lodging
to keep you safe from harm.
You have what?
And my men reported
that a man stayed the night.
You have no fucking right.
And a very particular man it was.
What I choose to do
in the comfort of my home
is none of your fucking business.
It is Ireland's business.
What we do is the business of our nation.
I came here to tell you
I will try to get you freed.
Another night with your man
should do the job, yeah?
Hands away!
You obviously have no decency,
but have you no sense?
Rich people in the bedrooms of the poor,
sneaking home at dawn,
leaving behind empty bottles and babies.
He is a kind man.
Fuck.
Fuck!
Yes, a "fuck" is what it was.
But more than that…
Now you not only appease the rebels,
you sleep with them.
Please! This sort of selfish surrender
of the flesh to temptation,
that's my territory, my job,
my role in the business.
It will not affect
the material conduct of the brewery.
Two days, and she's sending messages
to our door, using you as her turnkey.
What other services
did you offer in return?
Services? She's not a whore, Arthur.
-Not like--
-Not like who?
-Say it.
-I didn't mean--
You send a clerk you hardly know
to New York
who does deals with the devil
on our behalf, Edward!
Then you jump into bed with someone--
Simply because that is what we both wanted
in that moment!
Oh my God.
We are brothers after all.
I was beginning to think
I was the imperfect first attempt,
and you were the brother perfected.
We talked,
and we drank, and… and laughed.
I just…
And anyway, the birds started singing,
and I wanted them to go back to sleep.
Oh, Edward,
out there in the darkness,
beyond the baronial halls,
there is laughter all night long.
And those birds always sing too soon.
I think it's time
for you to marry Adelaide.
She'll put a stop to all this.
Although I must say…
…to see you love inappropriately,
it's like opening a window for fresh air.
It is not love.
No, but it is wildly inappropriate.
Butt said that we need to make
our agent in New York
part of the wider deal, correct?
In order to make connections
with the Fenians,
we may not now need
the services of Mr. Rafferty.
Yes, because you've
already slept with the enemy.
Not the enemy. She trusts me.
-I trust her.
-Hm.
She can help us bridge the gap.
Deeper and deeper he falls in love
with the green of her Irish eyes
and her sweet green Irish heart.
-Get off! You're ludicrous!
-Edward! Would ya marry me!
Lady Adelaide
is waiting for you, sir.
Deeper and deeper
He falls in love ♪
I was expecting Edward.
Yeah, my brother is busy
clearing up a mess of his own making.
So I'm afraid you've got me instead.
Sorry.
No apology necessary.
Either of you has the authority
to sign off on the consent--
I've decided to take
more of an active role in the business.
It seems that my once-perfect brother
now actually needs my help
managing his imperfections.
And it also seems that our business
is no longer just brewing beer.
It's housing the people that drink it.
-Is that disapproval in your voice?
-Oh God, no. No, no.
If I disapprove of something,
I tear it up, throw it in the fire.
You must have heard of
my reputation by now.
I've heard many things about you…
and your brother.
Then you'll know…
…that my brother wants to marry you.
The papers on the left are concerning
the cost of demolition of existing slums.
The papers on the right are regarding
the construction of new homes.
I think if you and he were to marry…
it'd be a splendid thing.
A match made in heaven.
Where do I sign?
You're not even going to
look at the accounts?
I put no price on God's work.
And please.
As you call upon us
for further signatures,
just know that in all the world,
my brother has eyes for you,
and for you alone.
I mean, just… imagine
all the good you could do
just by saying, "I do."
Jesus, fuck!
-Good job, Seamus.
-Sir. It's Ben, sir.
Good job, Ben.
-Morning.
-Morning, sir.
-Excellent work.
-Thank you, sir.
Good day, sir.
Mr. Guinness.
Patrick?
Patrick.
How goes it?
Ah, working days
suits me better than nights.
And the work?
Day flies on the mash.
Sure, it never stops.
I wanted to thank you for the promotion.
No. No, no, no, no.
It's the least I could do.
My nights are free now.
Good.
Good.
Do you know,
more people are fine with it
than you think.
Fine with what?
See?
World hasn't ended.
Brewery didn't burst its barrels.
Black beer didn't flow into the Liffey.
You don't have to jump
all the way down into my world.
You could pull me up into your own.
You could take me dancing.
There, there.
You got our expenditure approved.
Without a blink of an eye, and it was
Arthur who signed the accounts.
He said he has decided to get
more involved in the business.
Oh, God spare us.
He said Edward was clearing up
a mess of his own making.
I'm gone a few days,
and the boat begins to rock.
I didn't think Edward
was the kind of man who made a mess.
Edward acts so stern and serious
because he is afraid of his own kindness.
Arthur acts so frivolous
because he's afraid
of his own seriousness.
All men are boys playing hide-and-seek,
desperately hoping
someone is still looking for them.
You think Edward is kind?
And romantic.
Terrible dancer. Wishes he was a cowboy
in the American West.
Am I selling him to you?
-I don't want anyone to be sold to me.
-Fine.
Could you please get me laudanum?
In pursuit of our philanthropy
and to stop Edward
going completely off the rails,
I have suggested Edward take a trip
to our house in Connacht.
I want a voice in his ear
telling him what we should be doing
to help those poor people.
So, you will travel with him
and stay with him at Ashford Castle.
Our next project
must address rural poverty.
But, of course, this proposal
is not just about sanitation.
Of course it is not.
While you and Edward are helping the poor,
you will fall in love.
No need even for Aunt Agnes.
Dodo, when it comes to Guinness marriages,
there's very little point
trying to resist the inevitable.
Whatever your feelings…
…I will need my baby to have some company.
Your guest, Mr. Guinness.
My suggestion we meet at the churchyard
behind your father's grave
was perhaps grotesque.
But it was a lot more sensible than this.
We are very visible.
Ah, that's the point.
If we had something to hide,
we'd be hiding it.
You left your keys on my bedside table.
Would the lady care for a drink?
-Tea.
-Champagne.
Very good, sir.
Look, as a consequence of two good people
spending a night together
in fear of waking the neighbors,
I have had an idea,
which I wanted to propose to you.
This proposition involves
getting my brother out of jail?
Certainly, it gets your…
your brother out of jail.
It gets my New York situation resolved,
and it buries a deal that would destroy
everything my father created.
Our lawyer, Mr. Isaac Butt,
has intimate connections
with senior government officials
in Whitehall.
The British would like the Americans
to do more to stop Fenian incursions
on the Canadian border.
In return, the Americans need a… gesture
to appease their Irish vote.
The British have agreed
to free some Fenian prisoners
and send them to America
as proof of goodwill.
In the shipping pages,
an American ship docking at Liverpool
in two days' time.
The SS Cuba.
The SS Cuba will take the freed Fenians
arrested this morning to New York.
And my brother will be one of them.
That's what our lawyer can arrange.
In return, I need your help convincing
your brother to take exile in America,
and then he will be given
a hero's welcome.
-And he can start a new life.
-And if he doesn't wanna go?
I'm afraid he is an empty barrel
on the tide of history.
The only other alternative for him
is to stay and rot in jail.
When we slept together,
I thought I would regret it.
But I've discovered that I can step out
of my comfortable world
and break back in again,
and be improved by the experience.
I'm so glad I could be of service.
Sometimes I'm not good at telling
whether people are serious or not.
You return to your tidy world
with your tidy solutions.
I'll do your dirty work,
for my brother's sake.
But you and I will never have the keys
to the same door, Mr. Guinness.
Are we the ones ♪
Left behind? ♪
By those who weave… ♪
Dear Paddy,
when you are given this letter,
you will already be aboard a ship
bound for New York.
In New York, you will be the conduit
through which money can flow
from the Guinness Brewery
to the battalions.
I know this is against your will,
but I'm trying to save your life.
Trust me.
Your liberation and exile
are part of a bigger plan.
A plan that helps our cause.
I know you'll burn this letter,
but my heart burns with love for you.
Your devoted sister, Ellen.
Stood in line… ♪
We are the ones ♪
Left behind ♪
Are you Cochrane?
-Yeah.
-Off the SS Cuba?
Yeah.
Here, comrades! Behold!
Paddy Cochrane, one of the Cuba Five
just landed from Liverpool!
Give me that.
Oh, fuck whiskey, Murphy.
Give him Guinness.
To celebrate the arrival
of a hero of the revolution,
all Guinness is on me.
Come on, you.
Be careful.
Paddy Cochrane, as I live and breathe.
A legend, this man is.
To Patrick.
Welcome, my friend.
Champagne… is not a drink
the men of my class will drink.
On board that rotten ship,
I was told that once I had made my way
through the welcoming crowds
that I was to come to this bar
to meet the relevant people.
Are you the relevant people?
'Cause to me, you don't look relevant.
Well, if you are still trying to fight
for the cause of Irish freedom,
now that you are in America,
well, then… we are the relevant people.
Mmm.
This guy here…
…swiggin' his fuckin' Guinness?
I think he's the guy
that I was told about.
I can't wait to hear
what you were told about me.
Oh, I think you fuckin' can.
You know, we fetched champagne
and had the place full
because we thought
you'd be happy to be free, but
you've got an awful lot
of the fucking fog of Ireland about you.
The deal for my freedom
was done above and around me.
And above and around you,
the deal will continue to unfold.
You should have a bullet in your head.
You're the man!
You're the man who made promises
to the Brotherhood
that you could not keep.
And your head was saved
by the fucking Guinnesses.
You have no time for the Guinnesses?
I've never asked for anything
of anyone by that name.
-I hear your sister's a different matter.
-You fucking bastard!
You bastard!
-Sit down.
-Sit.
Like it or not, Mr. Cochrane,
you owe them your freedom.
I would rather
be still rotting
in that cell
than be beholden to that fucking family.
"That fucking family"
would like to offer you a job,
Mr. Cochrane…
…as an honorary representative
of Guinness Company Limited
in New York and Boston.
Why the fuck would I help sell beer
for those Protestant bastards?
Uh, you wouldn't actually
have to sell anything, Mr. Cochrane.
Guinness will pay you anyway.
Huh…
We will pay you handsomely.
Absurdly, even.
And then you might,
as a private individual,
wish to give some of that absurd amount
of money to certain organizations.
And there would be
no official connection to the Guinnesses.
With this arrangement in place,
our beer can continue to be
approved by the Brotherhood
without anything being said
or written down,
because,
as Edward Guinness said to me
in his last letter,
it's the public perception
that causes the consternation.
Fuck you.
Your presence here in New York…
is part of a much wider arrangement.
So you either play your part…
or face the consequences.
Cheeky bastard ♪
Never seen a man
Knock back Black Russians ♪
Wouldn’t say he thinks
About the repercussions ♪
Couple of sips
Quick lick of the lips ♪
And he’s piping up
Piping up ♪
Hussy, sing us a song
Sing us a song, will ya? ♪
He won’t stop singing
Champagne Supernova ♪
May I show you to your rooms, madam?
Goodness. They've press-ganged Potter.
Nothing is being left to chance, is it?
I've prepared rooms in the west.
Mr. Edward is in the east.
And the fire burning in the middle,
I would imagine.
My only recollection of Edward
from family weddings is that as a boy,
he was rather fond of his own reflection.
Now,
as the second-richest man in Ireland,
he can afford all the mirrors he wants.
Can I get you ice, madam?
You have ice?
Brought by ship from Greenland.
But as I understand it,
the village has no water.
There is a stream, madam.
I'm actually fine. Thank you.
Let me see.
Good. Have it decanted, please.
The Lady Adelaide is impressed,
but she's hiding it,
as aristocrats always do.
I can't remember if she drinks wine
or if she doesn't approve of alcohol.
After the fuck-up with Benjamin
asking her to dance at the wedding,
she swigged back
quite a large gin and Indian tonic,
but… in fairness,
that might have been down to the stress
of having her toes trodden on--
Begging pardon, Mr. Potter,
to let you know, the Lady has gone.
-Gone?
-What do you mean, "gone"?
I mean she set off walking,
and when the maid asked her
where she was going, she said…
she said she was walking to Cloonboo.
Cloonboo?
You don't go to Cloonboo
without four horses pulling you
and a musket in your lap. Eejit!
In Cloonboo,
it's cholera… or America.
Shh!
Jesus.
You know him?
Did you bring blankets?
Did you bring food?
-Stop.
-Did you bring ice, perhaps?
People here with fevers would have a use
for your ice from Greenland.
It wouldn't melt on the way.
It's only a mile
from your grand house to all of this.
We never come here.
No, I can see that.
Since the famine, Adelaide, it's not safe.
So you came riding to my rescue
on horses better fed than these people.
In this place,
you hear your own grave being dug.
What are you doing?
Trying to impress me now?
Go back to the house. Fetch some ice.
It's not really ice they need.
I was just making a point.
The food.
The food they are preparing for us.
And blankets.
Pull some blankets off the bed.
Go! I gave you an order.
Fill a hay wagon
with ice, food, and blankets.
-I'm sorry.
-Why would you be sorry? He's not yours.
Is he?
Gentlemen, please.
Sit down for a while.
It would be my pleasure.
Edward, you have made your point,
and not in a very convincing way.
I don't care about making a point.
I care about digging a grave
for men too weak to dig it themselves.
This isn't for them, though, is it?
It's simply to impress me.
I am not trying to impress you.
Adelaide, you should know
there is a woman. I've slept with her.
I left my keys beside her bed,
and she unlocked something in me.
I'm a cold fish,
I think.
But something…
something has moved in me,
and I wouldn't say
that it is love or anything like that,
but I have come to see things
in a different way because of her.
Who is she?
She has a lodging
on the fifth floor at the docks
where the smoke from my malthouses
turns her washing gray.
Had you not thought about buying her
a nice cottage in the bay?
I understand that is the procedure
for Guinness mistresses.
She would not accept.
Come.
Oh!
We used to come here
to watch the sunset.
I had a maid
who told me when I was a boy
that the sun was
actually falling into the water
and being extinguished.
I believed her.
I'm trying
to build a bridge across the divides.
I was told that the brewery
was your only obsession.
I suppose if the brewery
wants to conquer America,
it really wouldn't do to be seen
supporting only the union.
I don't mean to be cynical.
I have found that the people
who are most cynical in this world
are the ones
with the least experience of it.
-You think I'm sheltered?
-A grand shelter you've lived in.
And now I peer out
and shake my head with disapproval.
Passes the time quicker
than tea dances, I suppose.
Such a relief
you're not looking for a wife.
And that you
are not looking for a husband.
I'll see you after.
Hello.
You asked to see me?
Tonight at, uh… nine o'clock.
This address.
There is a dance.
Right.
Well, I'll wear my Sunday suit, then.
You can wear your Sunday suit…
but there will be no hymns, no prayers.
Good.
Good.
Good job.
-Sir.
-Keep up the good work.
Tonight.
Nine o'clock. He says it's a dance.
So there'll be a lot of them.
A fine catch. Good.
Police will arrive just after 10:00.
When they arrive, they will let you go.
I will give them your name,
and you will give them a code word.
The code word is "retribution."
It's not just for the money
you're doing this.
Come here.
If you don't help me expose
his dirty secret, I will expose yours.
Your father will be shamed, and 20 years
in jail will be waiting for you.
Did you tell her about the other woman?
Yes, I did.
Do you have to know everything, Potter?
Did it work, do you think?
What do you mean, "Did it work"?
People only want things
if they think they can't have them.
Potter, spare me your wisdom
and come and finish this tie, would you?
Fuck.
I bet it worked.
To honesty.
To being surprised by honesty.
-Bordeaux?
-Yes.
Yes, Margaux 1844.
I chose it
'cause that's the year of your birth.
Yes, I am rather old
to be a spinster, aren't I?
Everyone tells me.
No, I… I wasn't making a point.
Actually, this wine is rather wonderful.
Yes, the year of your birth
must have been very… sunny and warm.
And I am neither of those things, correct?
I think neither of us
is very good at talking
when there's no particular thing
to talk about.
Potatoes and eel gravy, sir.
Thank you.
I thought you might
appreciate the gesture.
What kind of gesture? Are you mocking me?
No! I'm not trying to mock you, no.
Look, no matter what our name may be…
you and I, we're no different to
the people living one mile away from us.
A self-righteous man ♪
A lawmaker ♪
Deals justice with ♪
The back of a hand ♪
A self-loathing man ♪
An indicator ♪
Whoo!
A masculine container ♪
A self-righteous man ♪
A lawmaker ♪
Deals justice with ♪
The back of a hand ♪
Huh…
A self-righteous man ♪
A lawmaker ♪
Deals justice with ♪
The back of a hand ♪
A lawmaker ♪
A lawmaker ♪
A lawmaker… ♪
When you came into my life I was lost ♪
And you took that shine to me ♪
At what cost? ♪
You recognized the smell ♪
Human pain ♪
Said I'd learn to love the chain ♪
It was ♪
Shit, shit, shit ♪
Battered, I caved in ♪
My promise was clattered ♪
Amazing stars from the drink ♪
I made a promise, and I killed it ♪
Shit, shit, shit ♪
Battered, I live meretricious ♪
You shattered ♪
Amazing stars from the dreamin' ♪
I made a promise ♪
Shit, battered ♪
I caved in ♪
My promise was clattered ♪
Amazing stars from the drink ♪
I made a promise, and I killed it ♪
Shit, shit, shit ♪
Battered, a whole life meritricious ♪
You shattered ♪
Amazing stars from the dreamin' ♪
I made a promise, I will kill it ♪
Shit, shit, shit ♪
Battered, I caved in ♪
My promise was clattered ♪
Amazing stars from the drink ♪
I made a promise-- ♪