MacCarthy's Bar
| MacCarthy's Bar | |
|---|---|
 MacCarthy's Bar in 1989 | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Owner(s) | Adrienne |
| City | Castletownbere |
| County | County Cork |
| Country | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 51°39′06″N 09°54′37″W / 51.65167°N 9.91028°W |
| Website | Official website |
MacCarthy's Bar, originally called McCarthy's Bar and also known as MacCarthy's Bar and Grocery, is a
It was initially a grocery business which expanded to trade with the nearby Royal Navy base at the harbour, and then became McCarthy's Bar, selling beer, wine and spirits, one of the first licensed premises in the town. Michael's youngest son, Denis Florence (D. F.), continued its success and had the premises refurbished by craftsmen who came to construct a nearby church between 1907 and 1911. To distinguish the family from a neighbour with the same name, the McCarthys became MacCarthy.
In 1979, Adrienne MacCarthy, great-granddaughter of Michael moved to Cork and took over the running of the Bar, to avoid it closing after the death of an uncle. It still sells groceries and has a bar at the back. It houses the ceremonial sword gifted to D.F.'s son Aidan, by a Japanese officer during the
Origins
MacCarthy's Bar and Grocery is located on the market square in Castletownbere, County Cork in Ireland.[1][2] It was initially a grocery store founded by Michael McCarthy, an Irish general merchant who started doing business in 1860.[3] As his business expanded, he began to trade with the nearby Royal Navy base at the harbour.[3] He salted locally bought fish and sold it to the large ships. With time he adapted his business to run hand-in-hand with whatever was in demand including importing coal and salt.[3] The grocery store later expanded to become McCarthy's Bar, selling beer, wine and spirits, one of the first licensed premises in the town.[3]
20th century
Later, Michael and his wife Eileen had three sons, Timothy who emigrated, John D. who studied law and the youngest
In 1979, Aidan's daughter, Adrienne, left her career in nursing, to at first temporarily but then permanently, move to Cork and take over the running of the Bar, to avoid it closing after the death of an uncle.[2]
It gained widespread attention when it featured in and appeared on the front cover of Pete McCarthy's best-selling book McCarthy's Bar (2000).[4][5] Chapter six in his book focussed on the evening he spent there.[6] He described the Bar as "the front half is a grocer's shop with seats for drinkers; the back half, a bar with groceries." It still is. The "fridge full of dairy products" still contains milk, eggs, Galtee cheese and butter, but it now also has bottles of white wine and Prosecco. The grocery shelves are still "well-stocked" with tinned beans, spam, ketchup and chickpeas.[4] When he used it for his front cover, he wanted it to match the spelling of his own name so he had the "a" in "Mac" erased.[4] The cover also staged a member of staff in a nun's costume posing with a pint of Guinness and the owner's dog was captured accidentally.[4]
21st century
MacCarthy's has become a tourist attraction and is run by Adrienne and Niki MacCarthy, daughters of Aidan.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, MacCarthy's remained closed for the longest period in its history.[2] The premises was reconfigured to allow one-way in and out passage and like other pubs, screens, sanitisers and masks were bought in.[2]
References
- ISBN 1-904943-40-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g McGreevy, Ronan (9 August 2020). "The MacCarthy family: Their father survived Dunkirk, Nagasaki and a torpedoed ship. Will their pub survive Covid-19?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84889-320-7.
- ^ a b c d Boland, Rosita (5 December 2014). "The all-night hooley in MacCarthy's Bar revisited". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ a b McDonald, Trudi. "'His life was saved by a rat': The incredible stories behind MacCarthy's Bar in Castletownbere". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-340-76605-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4456-9240-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4093-8763-3.
