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McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland
by Pete McCarthy
Product Group: Book
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (2003-03-03)
ISBN: 0312311338
EAN: 9780312311339
Dewey Decimal #: 910
Binding/Media: Paperback - 352 pages
SKU: WZ-77VW-X7AG
Condition: Good
Comments: Trade paperback has a little shelf wear, the pages are clean but yellowing with age on both pages and edge. This is McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland by Pete McCarthy. Good reading copy. « if ( document.getElementById ) { document.writeln('Show less'); }
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Despite the many exotic places Pete McCarthy has visited, he finds that nowhere else can match the particular magic of Ireland, his mother’s homeland. In McCarthy's Bar, his journey begins in Cork and continues along the west coast to Donegal in the north. Traveling through spectacular landscapes, but at all times obeying the rule, “never pass a bar that has your name on it,” he encounters McCarthy’s bars up and down the land, meeting fascinating people before pleading to be let out at four o’clock in the morning.
Written by someone who is at once an insider and an outside, McCarthy's Bar is a wonderfully funny and affectionate portrait of a rapidly changing country.
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Amazon.com Review
Although Pete McCarthy was raised in England, his mother hails from West Cork, and, despite never having lived there, he can't shake the strange feeling that Ireland is more home than home. A return pilgrimage reveals immediately why he (or anyone, for that matter) feels "involved and engaged" in Ireland. On arriving at the airport in Cork he's greeted by a guy in a giant rubber Celtic cross getup who's telling jokes with a latter-day St. Patrick (the guy who cast all snakes and pagans out of Ireland). Later, when McCarthy happens to mention that his surname matches that of the pub he's in (ever faithful to his Eighth Rule of Travel: "Never Pass a Bar That Has Your Name on It"), the owner buys him a Guinness, invites him to her raucous all-night birthday party, then insists he move to Ireland because, well, obviously he belongs. McCarthy's Second Rule of Travel states: "The More Bright Primary Colours and Ancient Celtic Symbols Outside the Pub, the More Phoney the Interior." While the island is turning into a haven for upmarket tourists--and McCarthy offers outstanding examples of bumbleheaded tourists in action--he still finds plenty of pubs where you can buy a bicycle and which still exist primarily as venues for conversation and Irish music sessions. While most travel writers seek out opportunities to meet the famous--or the infamous--McCarthy has the charming knack of just bumping into them on his rambles, which is how he met Noel Redding, formerly of Jimi Hendrix's band, and the author Frank McCourt. Far more interesting, though, are the eccentric and talkative bachelors and landladies who turn up in pubs, B&Bs, and the middle of the road. McCarthy has mastered the art of getting creatively lost, wandering the back lanes of Ireland where the hype of tourism has yet to arrive, pursuing stone circles, impossibly romantic ruined abbeys, and, of course, pubs. What he discovers is that "In Ireland, the unexpected happens more than you expect," which makes for a hilarious tour through one of the most beautiful, friendly, and quirky places on earth with a comedian who has honed the art of telling a good story and of having fun. --Lesley Reed
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Customer Reviews
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Good Read
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-05-26
An easy fun read. Good as a travelogue too but not too touristy. McCarthy had a great sense of humor and easy writing style.
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McCarthy's Bar
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-04-20
This is the most loved and often read book on my overstuffed shelf. I bought this book while on a study abroad trip to England, Scotland and Ireland when I was in college. It was a great read while traveling by coach all over the countryside of Ireland and the UK. I decided to return to Ireland the next summer to work and re-read the book before my trip and I have read it again at least 4 or 5 times since.
I think the book is outstanding not only for the obvious lines of hilarity but also for the underlying message of self discovery. Every time I read the book it is like I discover a bit more of myself while following him on his own self journey. One reviewer teases a bit about Pete's "American like" desire to discover his roots. Maybe it is because I am American, but I get it. How do we know where we are going if we don't know where we have been? This book makes me feel more connected to my present, past, and future.
It is sad that the author is no longer with us, I would have loved to read many more of his books.
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McCarthy's Bar
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-11-13
This is the fourth copy of Pete McCarthy's book, "McCarthy's Bar" I've purchased! I keep giving them as gifts. It is a gem. I would also recommend, "The Road to McCarthy....". Pete McCarthy's humor is delightful & almost masks the undercurrent of a serious journey. He was a wonderful writer & I was devastated to find that he has crossed over that great divide & won't be taking us with him for the ride!
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Sharp, funny and wise...
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-09-17
Oh, it's a great little book packed with more or less respectfull comments on Ireland, the Irish and life itself in all it's strangenes. Can actually be used as a travel guide to both common known and less known and absolutely unknown sights in Ireland, but You might not be able to down quite as many pints as McCarthy as You follow his tracks from pub to pub - and he only or mostly anyway visited the ones with his surname on the sign. There is sort of a small theme about Noel Redding, the now late bass player with The Jimi hendrix Experience, who lived in Clonakilty, South West Cork, Ireland, for many years, and that is why I by chance and Google stumbled into this book. I did an interview with Noel back in 1992 and sort of kept in contact. He did actually mention something about a writer, he'd met in 'his' pub way out in the nothingness of rural Cork. Must have been McCarthy. Anyway. This book i certainly not a thriller, McCarthy sure takes his time, but he is a funny and wise and sharp travel companion - even if you just read a chapter or two in bed at night.
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Irishpaul
Rating  (2)
Date: 2009-08-31
0 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Although the author visited many places in Ireland, I found his descriptions of the places boring. After reading this book, I have no desire to visit these small dull towns and people in Ireland. The Irish people that he met and the way he describes them sounded uninteresting and stuffy. I'm sure the scenery was great but the book ain't. Unless you really know or are interested in the back towns of western Ireland, you will be disappoined with this unexciting book. Sorry...
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