A shop at the front, a pub at the back
MacCarthy’s on The Square in Castletownbere has a double life that goes back to 1860, when the family traces the business to a general store. The shop fittings at the front recall the years when the premises served as a grocery as well as a pub. There is no theme and no tourist polish here, just mismatched furniture, an old shop counter and a back room that has long filled with locals, fishermen and the odd pilgrim who read the book. That book is Pete McCarthy’s McCarthy’s Bar, which put the pub on its cover in 2000.
The sword behind the bar
A Japanese ceremonial sword kept at the pub belonged to Dr Aidan MacCarthy, a local doctor who served with the RAF and survived captivity during the Second World War. It is mounted behind the bar, and the story goes that it was given to him by a Japanese officer, Isao Kusuno, after the war. His daughters’ search for the story behind the sword became the subject of A Doctor’s Sword, and his wartime years are also told in the family’s book A Doctor’s War.
If you do one thing here beyond having a drink, ask about the sword. The pub has offered a short talk on the Aidan MacCarthy story with local historian Sean Buckley, but check MacCarthy’s for whether and when it is running, and for the price, before you make a special trip.
The family and the building
The business started in 1860, when Michael McCarthy opened a general store on Main Street. Guinness came to him to take out a liquor licence, and the shop grew into one of Castletownbere’s first licensed premises, though his wife Ellen, by all accounts, would rather have kept it a grocery. Their youngest son, Denis Florence (D.F.), took over and rebuilt between 1907 and 1911, using Italian craftsmen who were in town constructing the Church of the Sacred Heart. They laid the floor mosaic that still carries D.F.’s initials at the door. To tell the family apart from a neighbouring business of the same name, D.F. added the ‘a’, and McCarthy’s became MacCarthy’s.
Aidan, sixth of D.F. and Julia’s children, was born in the flat above the shop in 1913. He served as an RAF doctor through the war and afterwards lived in London, but kept his ties to Beara. When his brother Jim died in 1977 the shop and bar nearly closed; Aidan’s daughter Adrienne gave up nursing in England and came home in 1979 to keep it going, joined by her sister Niki in 1991. The family’s story has since drawn wider attention, including a BBC Radio 4 Legacy of War episode narrated by Sean Bean and a visit from the UK ambassador.
Food and drink
Food and drink offerings change, so check MacCarthy’s before making a special trip for a meal. The crab sandwich has long been the local order, and the bar has leaned on West Cork Distillers whiskey along with a few craft beers and ciders. If dinner is the plan, confirm kitchen hours first rather than arriving late and finding only crisps.
Music and books
Live music has been part of the back room, where the small space means you hear every note of the fiddle and bodhrán, but confirm any session with the pub before you go. A book corner has held copies of McCarthy’s Bar, Bob Jackson’s A Doctor’s Sword and Beara Historical Society titles, and the family’s pug, Bailey, made the cover of Pete McCarthy’s book.
Practical information and getting around
Check opening times, table bookings and any history session with the pub before you travel, using +353 27 70014 or the website. Use public parking in the town and leave loading areas clear.
The bar is on The Square, a short walk from Berehaven Harbour and the start of several coastal walks, and it sits directly on the Beara Way, a natural stop if you’re walking the trail. A short drive gets you to Adrigole on the coast or inland to the copper-mining heritage at Allihies.