Fodor's Expert Review McCarthy's Bar

Instantly recognizable by fans of writer Pete McCarthy as the bar in the cover photograph of his hilarious and best-selling travelogue, McCarthy's Bar, which bore the motto "never pass a bar with your name on it." It's an old-fashioned pub in the real sense, which means it doubles as a shop, so guests can buy a packet of cereal from behind the wood counter or order a pint of the black stuff (or do both). A Japanese katana sword hangs self-consciously on the wall, uncomfortable in its old Irish world setting, but it's a good talking point with the McCarthy family members from the snug at the other side of the counter. The late Dr. Aidan McCarthy, father of the current owners, was a survivor of Dunkirk, a World War II prisoner of war camp, and the bombing of Nagasaki.