After reading and enjoying "McCarthy's Bar", I was looking forward to "Road to McCarthy". Here, the author spreads his wings, visiting far beyond the Emerald Isle to report on other Irish colonies around the world, including New York, Van Diemen's Land, Morocco, Montana, Monteserrat and Alaska.

Being Australian, naturally my favourite section covered Tasmania, although like McCarthy and many others, I prefer changing its name back to Vans Diemen's Land (how much cooler would it be to refer to the "Van Diemen's Devil"?) And his description of the typical Australians' hair styles was hilarious.

I feel though that some of the humour was more forced in this compared to "McCarthy's Bar", possibly due to the fact there's only so many ways you can call someone an idiot. Still, this is well worth reading, and I was saddened to hear of McCarthy's death a few years back, robbing us of the chance to read more of his. ( )

Didnt really enjoy it, was expecting it to be much better after reading McCarthys Bar ( )

In this follow up to "The Road to McCarthy", the late Pete McCarthy expands his canvas to visit parts of the world with strong Irish connections. He starts in Tangiers, the unlikely city of residence of the McCarthy Mor, Prince of Desmond and chief of clan McCarthy, who turns out to be a blarney filled Ulsterman.

Other stop-off points are Tasmania, to follow the fortunes of transported Irish convicts, the Caribbean island of Monserrat, the only place apart from Ireland where St. Patrick's Day is a public holiday, and the remote settlement of McCarthy, Alaska. He also spends more time in Ireland and a St. Patrick's Day in New York City, attempting to read from his previous book in an Irish bar full of rowdy Glasgow Celtic supporters.

As in the first book, one rapidly warms to McCarthy, even when he's making sly sideswipes at some of his fellow travellers. I'm not sure who did this kind of thing first, he or Bill Bryson, but any fan of the latter's will enjoy this book. ( )

The last book by the late Pete McCarthy is the follow-up to McCarthy’s Bar. As an English man of half-Irish ancestry, the earlier book saw McCarthy traveling Ireland to discover the essence of Irishness. In this book he extends the travels around the world tracing down distant relatives and the story of Fenian prisoners in the lands where the Irish Diaspora made their mark. These include:

* Morroco, where McCarthy tracks down a man claiming to be the chief of the McCarthy clan (and the good he’s done bringing people together whether that’s true or not).
* New York City, where he discovers an Irish hip-hop band in Rocky O’Sullivan’s bar and marches in the St. Patrick’s Day parade without invitation.
* Australia, where he visits the former penal colony of Van Dieman’s Land where Fenian political prisoners made a new life.
* Montserrat, a volcanic island in the Carribean that identifies with Ireland through it’s history of emigration.
* Montana, where he visits the copper-mining community of Butte that has strong connections with West Cork.
* McCarthy, Alaska, a remote town of a few dozen people in the distant glacial valleys.



McCarthy succeeds in writing a book that works as a travel book, a humor book, an insightful investigation of Irishness and an introspective memoir. Too bad Pete McCarthy’s past on, I’d like to meet him, or at least read more of what he would write.

“Some of them have those digital still cameras that display instant pictures, so that now people can take their holiday snaps and bore their friends with them at the same time.” –p.57

“Time spent in the United States offers many delights, but I think it’s fair to say that news from other countries isn’t one of them. A booster dose of British journalism will help me cope when Europe hasn’t been mentioned in any news media for more than two weeks and I’m beginning to question the reality of my existence.” – p. 101

“I’m starting to understand my limits. Wherever you go in the world, there will be people to tell you it’ll be bigger, stranger, better, more authentic if you take the time to go somewhere else instead; but if you go there, you won’t be here. You can only be in one place at a time, and sleep in one bed each night. Sometime’s it’s good to know where you are when you wake up.” – p. 327 ( )

Gave up, after the first few chapters. Could not get interested in why he was trailing around the world to meet people with his name. Unlike, say Bryson who gives us a context to where he is travelling, this felt like meet the odd foreigners and see my funny experiences. But then i am not a travel writer fan! I have his first book which given its awards may be better as this one may not have been published but for the success of the first volume... ( )