Rating: 
Summary: Lost soul seeks a place of resurrection
Review: Author and humorist Pete McCarthy, son of an Irish mother and English father, has an identity crisis. His feeling of belonging in the English Midlands having gotten lost somewhere along the way, he searches for his roots and a sense of "home" in the west of Ireland - a journey of discovery and social commentary as related here in McCARTHY'S BAR, the first of his two books on the joys and angst of an Irish heritage.
Whether he's climbing to the top of Ireland's holiest mountain, Croagh Patrick, stopping for a pint at every "McCarthy's Bar" he stumbles upon, enduring a three-day ordeal of fasting, sleep deprivation and barefoot praying at the country's last remaining place of rigorous religious pilgrimage, St. Patrick's Purgatory at Lough Derg, crashing the touristy medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle, taking the dodgy cable car across treacherous waters to Dursey Island, or seeking out the "Ryan's Daughter" commemorative stone on the Dingle Peninsula, McCarthy's narrative is a revelatory introduction to Eire's rugged western counties. And, Pete's strength is always his keen eye for and pungent commentary on the absurdities of the local human condition.
"Outside the church (in Castletownbere) half a dozen shifty-looking men are lurking by the porch, observing their obligation to attend mass, but without actually entering the building and being spotted by the priest ... Hunched and restless, their furtive, well-practiced body language doesn't say 'Church' so much as 'Unemployment Office' or 'Magistrate's Court'. Ireland may be becoming a more secular society, but some deeply ingrained vestige of belief has convinced these guys they're more likely to avoid eternal damnation if they spend an hour every Saturday night having a few smokes outside the church before going out for a skinful. It's a complex business, modern theology."
McCarthy and Bill Bryson are my two favorite travel essayists. But whereas the latter's gentle observations are fueled by a certain bemused inquisitiveness, Pete's, though basically benign, seem to be colored by a mild case of indigestion. I can't say that I prefer one over the other; it depends on my mood. Certainly, if McCarthy proves to be as prolific a writer as Bill, then his publisher is assured of my dollars.
McCarthy perhaps hit his stride with his second book, THE ROAD TO McCARTHY, to which I awarded five stars. McCARTHY'S BAR seemed a bit forced at times, e.g. in the chapter about the author's travails in St. Patrick's Purgatory. However, as a half-century resident of Southern California, in which place I've never felt entirely comfortable, I can relate to the quote attributed by the author to his friend on Inishmore Island, Father Dara Molloy, a Catholic priest - now married with three children - gone rogue from established Church doctrine:
"The Celtic monks would wander round Europe until they found the place that was calling to them ... They had an expression for it: seeking their place of resurrection. They believed that they were beneath that spot in the firmament that would one day lead them to heaven."
Rating: 
Summary: A crock of gold??????
Review: I am not going to win any friends with this review. The people who buy this book are people buying into the whole Ireland myth of everyone being friendly and the craic being great. Pete himself buys into this whole ideal and at first the book chugs along with a dash of wit and a great pace... by the end there is no pace, no shades of light and dark and certainly no humour.Pete has written a book that is a crock of steaming drivel...not the crock of gold that most of the people who read this book will feel that it is. Clichéd, blinkered and tired. (And Pete, you aren't Irish, much as you'd like to be: - you're English-Get over it!) And in case anyone thinks this is a knock the Irish review, I live here and holiday exclusively around Ireland every year- but this is written with such unimaginative broad strokes that it deserves to have criticism heaped upon it... watch out for the Leprechauns there Pete, you Guinness drinking wild man you.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a wonderful take on Ireland
Review: I loved this book. I'm Irish and lived in England for 7 years. McCarthys observances on Ireland and the Irish strike just the right tone I feel. He is sympathetic without being uncritical and gushing about how "friendly" everyone is. Like anywhere, some Irish people are great and some aren't. I had done a similar tour around the south west of Ireland that McCarthy takes, it's beautiful and a route well worth following. The characters he meets are beautifully portrayed. He is a very funny writer and his next book "The Road to McCarthy" is even better. I have recommended McCarthys to a number of American friends visiting Ireland. They all loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Thanks for the memories
Review: I noticed "McCarthy's Bar" in the bookstore shortly before I left for a two-week ramble around Ireland. I put off buying it until I was back from my travels, then I sought it out. Several years separated my travels from Pete McCarthy's but I swear we met some of the same people, stayed in the same guesthouses, had the same reactions and frustrations and giggles, and felt the same blood-deep affection for the country and its people, natives and others alike. Reading through this book (and doing so slowly because I didn't want the journey to end) was like reading my own journal from a slightly different perspective. McCarthy immediately joins Bill Bryson and Tim Cahill on my shelf of worthwhite and recommended travel writers: the real ones...not the jet-setters who stay in posh hotels and view their chosen destinations through a motorcoach window with precisely timed stops for tea in tourist-approved establishments, but the ones who immerse themselves amongst the locals, sometimes unsuccessfully and with startling results, and write about their experiences with humor and healthy self-spoofing. If you have any desire to hop over to Ireland, rent a car, and careen off down the back roads (i.e., most any Irish road) to see what you'll see, you'll enjoy "McCarthy's Bar."
Rating:
Summary: Good look at Ireland for the tourist
Review: I picked this book while on a biking tour of the southwestern part of Ireland. I really enjoyed the author's comments on the country. He spends most of his time in the western part of the Ireland and it directly related to my trip. He is English and some of the language was a little foriegn to me (I live in the US). He has a good mix of humor and insight. Well worth reading for anyone visiting or interested in this part of Ireland.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky, funny book
Review: I picked up this book on a recent trip to Ireland, and can't recall a book that made me laugh out loud as often as this one did. A previous reviewer seemed to feel that McCarthy was overly hard on Americans, but I didn't get that sense at all. If anything, he pokes far more fun at the Germans and English (although Irish and Americans get their fair share of abuse, too). The book may not win any awards for our overblown political correctness, but it really was hilarious. I'll be watching for more by this author.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed 'til it hurt
Review: I think the important thing to know about this book, is that it requires a very dry sense of humour. And it certainly helps if you know the author. As a "mick" overseas, I found this to be an inciteful, irreverent, and very very funny look at Ireland, the Irish, and the new world thirst for all things Irish. Of the many books I've read, this is one of the two or three books that have made me laugh both out loud and uncontrollably. I've just finished re-reading for the third time this year.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh Out Loud Funny
Review: If you have read Bill Bryson (run! find A Walk In the Woods by Bryson if you haven't), you will love McCarthy. His mastery of situational humor is unsurpassed. Don't give in to reviewers who think he is too harsh on cultural prejudices - we all can use a bright light shined on our silliness, prejudices, and habits every now and again, and he leaves no group in the dark. Overdressed Europeans, silly Americans, puzzled Brits - all are drinking beer or fancy mineral water in Ireland in this book. You get a peek at Ireland's history & natural wonders. You get a peek at the Univeral Tourist. You get a good look at an historically impoverished country (Ireland) getting its first real taste of prosperity. You need a sense of humor to read McCarthy (or Bryson) or you'll be offended by his unvarnished truths. Wonderful reading.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny and accurate
Review: If you've spent any time in Ireland, you will laugh at loud at this book. And for those who haven't been to Ireland, it offers interesting insight.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favourites.....
Review: It is hard to believe Pete McCarthy is no longer with us, having past away in October of last year. I only found this, Pete's first book, back in 2003 and immediately fell in love with it. I was so taken by McCarthy's bar, I ordered his second book, Roda to McCarthy from Amazon.uk because I knew it would be months before someone could "Americanize" it. There are so many funny passages within this book, I am hard pressed to find one, but I have to say his description of his trek across the field early in the book is my favorite ( I do not want to give too much away, please read the book). I will have to read both of these books again and cherish them as the untitled third book may never be published. Good night Pete, have a Guinness and some Singapore Noodles up there in heaven for me.
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