McCarthy's Bar

McCarthy's Bar is the best-selling book by travel writer and comedian Pete McCarthy. First published in 2000, the book sold nearly a million copies leading to McCarthy winning Newcomer of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2002.
The book describes a series of trips McCarthy makes to Ireland in the late 1990s exploring his past and family history, as well as documenting how Ireland is coping with changing realities.
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. New edition.