McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery in Ireland - Softcover

Mccarthy, Pete

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340766050 ISBN 13: 9780340766057

Publisher: Sceptre, 2001

Synopsis

Pete McCarthy's tale of his hilarious trip around Ireland has gained thousands of fans all over the world.

Pete was born in Warrington to an Irish mother and an English father and spent happy summer holidays in Cork. Years later, reflecting on the many places he has visited as a travel broadcaster, Pete admits that he feels more at home in Ireland than anywhere. To find out whether this is due to rose-coloured spectacles or to a deeper tie with the country of his ancestors, Pete sets off on a trip around Ireland and discovers that it has changed in surprising ways. Firstly obeying the rule 'never pass a pub with your name on it', he encounters McCarthy's bars up and down the land, and meets English hippies, German musicians, married priests and many others. A funny, affectionate look at one of the most popular countries in the world.

About this title

Review:

The premise of Pete McCarthy's first book, McCarthy's Bar, is that you should never pass up the opportunity of having a drink in a bar that shares your name. There is clearly more to this plan than the obvious publicity stunt, since it could work with books as well--try reading Cormac McCarthy after reading this hilarious, informed and intelligent book, and you may well be tempted to buy books by every other McCarthy around.

Born in Warrington, Pete McCarthy decides to go back to rural Ireland, to rediscover his Irishness. The feeling that you have heard this sort of thing all before doesn't last for long. There is a serious writer struggling to make himself heard above the many excellent jokes and this is what makes McCarthy's book so distinctive. Although he can crack Brysonesque quips with the best of them ("I've often wondered how businessmen used to cope before [mobile phones] were invented. How did they tell their wives they were on the train?"), and take us through hilarious and largely drunken set-pieces, McCarthy is equally at home discussing Celtic standing stones and the potato famine.

The resulting book is a wonderful debut. By the end, we, too, would like to move to Ireland. You sense that McCarthy has such a genuine feeling for Ireland, Irishness and Irish history that he can only temper his writing with side-splitting humour. In this way, his first book successfully embodies much of what it is to be Irish. --Toby Green

Review:

'In its freewheeling, informal, jokey way, it is nothing less than an portrait of modern Ireland, in all its splendid contradictions. For a study on Ireland and Irishness, the book is exhilaratingly cosmopolitan in outlook ... Television's loss has been literature's gain.'
Telegraph

McCarthy is a hilariously funny writer (The Times)

An engaging, evocative book. Four out of five stars (Daily Mail)

'Pete McCarthy is a funny man. You will know this if you have seen his award-winning television work or heard him on the radio ... It is impossible to mention comic travels without bringing up the name of Bill Bryson. McCarthy is more to my liking: less smug, delivering more of a sense that he actually noticed the places he passed through without making them seem a freak show. And funny enough to have my neighbours pulling long faces as I sniggered on the Tube the other day.'
Sunday Times

'A genuinely funny, yet affectionate and informative portrait of the west of Ireland. His book is a collection of wry observations and anecdotes, a skill he developed presenting eight series of Travelog on Channel 4 ... I can guarantee a read that will make you laugh out loud'
Sussex Life

Hilarious, informed and intelligent ... a wonderful debut. By the end, we, too, would like to move to Ireland (Amazon.co.uk)

One of the funniest writers around. If you were asked to choose the ideal travelling companion, you would put Pete McCarthy near the top of your list. But if he doesn't happen to be available, MCCARTHY'S BAR is the next best thing (Yorkshire Evening Post)

'Comedian and broadcaster McCarthy takes a hysterical journey through the Ireland of his childhood. An extremely enjoyable book that had me rolling with laughter one minute and deep in thought the next'
The Latest (Brighton)

'McCarthy is a hilariously funny writer'
The Times

Don't panic - this is not the same story you hear from every tourist you meet ... This book will make you laugh out loud through recognition and embarrassment (Irish News)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sceptre
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0340766050
• ISBN 13: 9780340766057
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 374