What do you think?
Rate this book
Pint-Sized Ireland: In Search of the Perfect Guinness
One man's tour of Ireland on tap; a rollicking travelogue in the tradition of Round Ireland with a Fridge and McCarthy's Bar.
"Regret" is the word that best describes Evan McHugh's first taste of Guinness. For an Australian raised on Vegemite, Ireland's black brew is very much an acquired taste. But the travel-writer is committed to acquiring it. Determined to discover exactly what makes a pint of Guinness so legendary, he crosses the Emerald Isle in search of his answers.
But in sampling pints as he goes, McHugh soon realizes that in each town, and at every pub, someone always says that the best glass of Guinness is to be found . . . . somewhere else.
In his comedic and sentimental journey, McHugh and his companion, Twidkiwodm (the-woman-he-didn't-know-he-would-one-day-marry), hitch around Ireland, meeting unforgettable characters. He goes rowing with a German bagpiper on the lakes of Killarney, windsurfing with a one-armed man in Dingle, survives an encounter with poteen and even finds his own bar . . . but keeps searching for the perfect pint.
As entertaining as it is informative, Pint-Sized Ireland is both a hilarious travelogue and thoughtful diary. McHugh's comedic voice swiftly moves in and out of pubs, peering into froth-rimmed pints, and leading readers to question: So does he ever find the perfect pot of black gold?
Those who have rested upon the barstools of Ireland, who have sought the famed "perfect pint of Guinness," realize that perfection rests in more than just the taste. McHugh captures the visceral experience of Guinness and Ireland in a warm memoir that's perfect to savor.
International Praise for Pint-Sized Ireland
"McHugh's idea of traveling is one continuous pub crawl . . . an entertaining homage to the black brew."
---The Age (Australia)
"McHugh's writing style is intelligent, quirky, and conversational. The result is a consummately easy to read book, amusing and engaging. It'll make you want to go in search of your own perfect pint."
---Adventure Travel
"This is a lovely book, well written, full of humorous anecdotes and works both as a travelogue and as a guide to drinking in Ireland. One of the real joys of this book is the way that the author captures the nuances and syntax of the way the people speak ('"Rooit", said the pub-landlord, 'in ye coom"'). After a few pages you find yourself falling into this yourself and by the time you finish the book you will have developed a full-blown Irish accent."---www.bootsnall.com
"Regret" is the word that best describes Evan McHugh's first taste of Guinness. For an Australian raised on Vegemite, Ireland's black brew is very much an acquired taste. But the travel-writer is committed to acquiring it. Determined to discover exactly what makes a pint of Guinness so legendary, he crosses the Emerald Isle in search of his answers.
But in sampling pints as he goes, McHugh soon realizes that in each town, and at every pub, someone always says that the best glass of Guinness is to be found . . . . somewhere else.
In his comedic and sentimental journey, McHugh and his companion, Twidkiwodm (the-woman-he-didn't-know-he-would-one-day-marry), hitch around Ireland, meeting unforgettable characters. He goes rowing with a German bagpiper on the lakes of Killarney, windsurfing with a one-armed man in Dingle, survives an encounter with poteen and even finds his own bar . . . but keeps searching for the perfect pint.
As entertaining as it is informative, Pint-Sized Ireland is both a hilarious travelogue and thoughtful diary. McHugh's comedic voice swiftly moves in and out of pubs, peering into froth-rimmed pints, and leading readers to question: So does he ever find the perfect pot of black gold?
Those who have rested upon the barstools of Ireland, who have sought the famed "perfect pint of Guinness," realize that perfection rests in more than just the taste. McHugh captures the visceral experience of Guinness and Ireland in a warm memoir that's perfect to savor.
International Praise for Pint-Sized Ireland
"McHugh's idea of traveling is one continuous pub crawl . . . an entertaining homage to the black brew."
---The Age (Australia)
"McHugh's writing style is intelligent, quirky, and conversational. The result is a consummately easy to read book, amusing and engaging. It'll make you want to go in search of your own perfect pint."
---Adventure Travel
"This is a lovely book, well written, full of humorous anecdotes and works both as a travelogue and as a guide to drinking in Ireland. One of the real joys of this book is the way that the author captures the nuances and syntax of the way the people speak ('"Rooit", said the pub-landlord, 'in ye coom"'). After a few pages you find yourself falling into this yourself and by the time you finish the book you will have developed a full-blown Irish accent."---www.bootsnall.com
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
7 people are currently reading
612 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
January 8, 2017
I laughed all the way this book. It's the story of 2 Australians, raised on Vegemite regarded by the rest of the world as "utterly inedible and unspeakably vile", on the trail of a perfect Guinness. Although often described by the Irish as "mother's milk" for the rest of the world as an acquired taste. The first lesson they learned is not to have your first Guinness on the ferry from Wales. You'll never want to drink it again. The experience had me laughing out loud.
As the young couple backpacks through Ireland, staying in hostels, running into other travelers from around the world and experiencing Ireland through pubs, there is a good time to be had by all. The book claims there are more pubs in Ireland than accommodations and set out to prove it.
As Evans travels, he likes to pick up books and there are stories of books in the hostels that have complete travelogues included. It's wonderful to think of how many places those books have gone. The author recommends taking a poem with you to remind you of home. He says, "If I were an Irishman travelling the world, of all the Irish poets I'd take Heaney." It made me think of my friend, Barbara, because she likes Heaney so much.
This is a fun read that I recommend.
As the young couple backpacks through Ireland, staying in hostels, running into other travelers from around the world and experiencing Ireland through pubs, there is a good time to be had by all. The book claims there are more pubs in Ireland than accommodations and set out to prove it.
As Evans travels, he likes to pick up books and there are stories of books in the hostels that have complete travelogues included. It's wonderful to think of how many places those books have gone. The author recommends taking a poem with you to remind you of home. He says, "If I were an Irishman travelling the world, of all the Irish poets I'd take Heaney." It made me think of my friend, Barbara, because she likes Heaney so much.
This is a fun read that I recommend.
March 3, 2019
A poor excuse for a travel book. Arch, silly and superficial. It didn't show me anything about Ireland--or Guinness--that I didn't know before.
November 18, 2007
"Maybe it's just me, but I suspect that most men dream of having women fight over them. In The Laurels, that dream was nearly fulfilled." (p 98)
I like the author's historical asides, particularly one in which he describes Ireland's origins. Instead of travelling around killing people and conquering places, in the 6th century, a bunch of Christian monks decided to basically just go to this island and read, read, read. They influenced the pursuant settlers, and Ireland is now the best read country in Europe.
"I find these guys pretty impressive for a couple reasons," writes the author. "First, I can identify with people who spent their days in a drafty cell, hunched over a manuscript. Second, they kept the light of civilisation burning for centuries while everyone else was a-rapin' and a-pillagin'. These days, when someone's always saying 'We'll all be ruined', it's comforting to know that it only takes a handful of people to sustain the idea of a better world." (p 116)
"James Joyce is supposed to have wished he'd met Yeats when he was younger and something could still be done about his writing. That goes to show how catty even great writers can be." (p 239)
I like the author's historical asides, particularly one in which he describes Ireland's origins. Instead of travelling around killing people and conquering places, in the 6th century, a bunch of Christian monks decided to basically just go to this island and read, read, read. They influenced the pursuant settlers, and Ireland is now the best read country in Europe.
"I find these guys pretty impressive for a couple reasons," writes the author. "First, I can identify with people who spent their days in a drafty cell, hunched over a manuscript. Second, they kept the light of civilisation burning for centuries while everyone else was a-rapin' and a-pillagin'. These days, when someone's always saying 'We'll all be ruined', it's comforting to know that it only takes a handful of people to sustain the idea of a better world." (p 116)
"James Joyce is supposed to have wished he'd met Yeats when he was younger and something could still be done about his writing. That goes to show how catty even great writers can be." (p 239)
May 6, 2008
A description of a tipsy tour of Ireland, complete with a little map decorated with iconic glasses of Guinness at each of the stops. McHugh writes a little like Bill Bryson. I like the style.
When I flipped the book open in the store, this is the paragraph that caught my eye and landed it in my hand to go home with me:
"Another term the Irish use to describe Guinness is 'moother's milk'. Considering it resembles liquid coal capped with a layer of densely packed froth of a colour one normally associates with festering swamps, one can only conclude that Mother hasn't been well."
When I flipped the book open in the store, this is the paragraph that caught my eye and landed it in my hand to go home with me:
"Another term the Irish use to describe Guinness is 'moother's milk'. Considering it resembles liquid coal capped with a layer of densely packed froth of a colour one normally associates with festering swamps, one can only conclude that Mother hasn't been well."
July 18, 2010
A nice blend of travelogue, cultural study, history, humor, and drinking--lots of drinking. The best Guinness is (obviously) the one you have in your hand, but it never hurts to circle around Ireland doing 'research.' I giggled quite a bit, laughed out loud more than once, and by the time I finished, I found myself really wanting a pint. Nicely done.
July 30, 2015
I need to travel around Ireland drinking in pubs. Stat.
2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A funny book
2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A funny book
September 1, 2019
Evan McHugh's PINT-SIZED IRELAND is a breezy read that follows Evan and his future wife on their travels through Ireland. An Australian, McHugh tastes his first pint of Guiness on the ferry across the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dublin, and he finds it awful. Assured by his Irish friends in Dublin that Guinness is in fact "moother's milk," he and Michelle travel around Ireland, clockwise, following their own path but thematically connecting that path through an ongoing search for the perfect pint of Guinness. All along the way local lore offers a host of ideas on where the perfect pint exists, but it is always somewhere else.
My family just returned from our first trip to Ireland this summer, and the best thing about this book is how familiar the places are, even after just one quick trip. That may be a testament to how small a country Ireland actually is. As Evan and Michelle spend time in Dublin, Killarney, Dingle, Doulin, Galway and so on, many places, and even specific pubs, are recognizable. Okay, some of that is natural. Everyone goes to Trinity College or to the Cliffs of Moher. However, McHugh spends time at some of the same pubs we went to in Galway, and he felt the same way about the Guinness Storehouse tour (underwhelmed) as we did, even though he published his book in 2001, eighteen years ago. Numerous other examples of this shared familiarity dot the book. I should note, though, the Irish seem to drink a lot of beer other than Guinness. You would not know that from this book.
McHugh is a journalist with many books to his credit, mostly about Australian topics. He can write an entertaining book. At times however, he tries too hard and the result is borderline arch. But, though he obviously treasures great writers, and in this book he writes admiringly of Yeats, Heaney, Joyce, Behan and others, he is not trying to emulate them here. PINT-SIZED IRELAND is meant to charm you for an evening or two, and maybe make you think about the world outside your walls for a bit.
A pint, or a half,
does taste better in Galway.
Must be the clean loins.
My family just returned from our first trip to Ireland this summer, and the best thing about this book is how familiar the places are, even after just one quick trip. That may be a testament to how small a country Ireland actually is. As Evan and Michelle spend time in Dublin, Killarney, Dingle, Doulin, Galway and so on, many places, and even specific pubs, are recognizable. Okay, some of that is natural. Everyone goes to Trinity College or to the Cliffs of Moher. However, McHugh spends time at some of the same pubs we went to in Galway, and he felt the same way about the Guinness Storehouse tour (underwhelmed) as we did, even though he published his book in 2001, eighteen years ago. Numerous other examples of this shared familiarity dot the book. I should note, though, the Irish seem to drink a lot of beer other than Guinness. You would not know that from this book.
McHugh is a journalist with many books to his credit, mostly about Australian topics. He can write an entertaining book. At times however, he tries too hard and the result is borderline arch. But, though he obviously treasures great writers, and in this book he writes admiringly of Yeats, Heaney, Joyce, Behan and others, he is not trying to emulate them here. PINT-SIZED IRELAND is meant to charm you for an evening or two, and maybe make you think about the world outside your walls for a bit.
A pint, or a half,
does taste better in Galway.
Must be the clean loins.
January 19, 2016
Evan McHugh takes you on the ultimate pub crawl across Ireland in search of the perfect Guinness. This is a great travel book with quirky characters. I found it very relatable as I read about tourists stepping over the barriers at the Cliffs of Moher, hoping the bus would leave without certain passengers, and especially the friendliness of the Irish. It definitely made me yearn to go back to Ireland and explore more of the country. Even though I don't indulge in the gargle, I liked how McHugh ultimately decided that the best Guinness is all about being in the right place at the right time.
February 18, 2013
I've wanted to read this book for quite some time, and I'm glad that I finally got the chance to do so. I love Guinness, I've always wanted to go to Ireland, and this appeared to be a book about both of those things - what's not to like? And though the book differed from my expectations, it's still incredibly entertaining.
I've read quite a few books about people traveling in Ireland (and quite a few about Guinness), and this ranks as one of the better ones, certainly right up there with Round Ireland with a Fridge, although maybe not quite surpassing it. Like that book, this concerns somebody hitchhiking around Ireland. And while Tony Hawks traveled with a refrigerator, Evan McHugh traveled with the girl he didn't know that he would one day marry. Unlike Hawks, McHugh (and TWIDKIWODM) came to Ireland to actually see the sights, and their quest to find the perfect Guinness was not so much something they planned as something they found themselves doing on the course of their journey.
The title (and description) of this book are somewhat misleading, because it's not really about looking for the perfect Guinness. This is a book about hitchhiking around Ireland, and all the places you can see and people you can meet along the way, with the Guinness quest as more of a background theme to tie everything together. And while that's not what I expected, I think this book is much better for it - you really get a feel of what it's like to not only travel across this country, but also excellent descriptions of place, with interesting history that never gets boring and serves to highlight the information that's being presented.
The only thing that really irked me was the way that McHugh wrote out the accents of the people talking. That's one thing that drives me crazy... but I will say that it wasn't as annoying as I've seen it in other places, and I did find myself sounding out the words just to hear the accent.
This book may not be for everyone, and I'm sure that people will come away from it disappointed that it didn't live up to what it promised. But it was an entertaining read, and while I can't afford to get to Ireland at the present, this book (almost) made me feel like I was there.
I've read quite a few books about people traveling in Ireland (and quite a few about Guinness), and this ranks as one of the better ones, certainly right up there with Round Ireland with a Fridge, although maybe not quite surpassing it. Like that book, this concerns somebody hitchhiking around Ireland. And while Tony Hawks traveled with a refrigerator, Evan McHugh traveled with the girl he didn't know that he would one day marry. Unlike Hawks, McHugh (and TWIDKIWODM) came to Ireland to actually see the sights, and their quest to find the perfect Guinness was not so much something they planned as something they found themselves doing on the course of their journey.
The title (and description) of this book are somewhat misleading, because it's not really about looking for the perfect Guinness. This is a book about hitchhiking around Ireland, and all the places you can see and people you can meet along the way, with the Guinness quest as more of a background theme to tie everything together. And while that's not what I expected, I think this book is much better for it - you really get a feel of what it's like to not only travel across this country, but also excellent descriptions of place, with interesting history that never gets boring and serves to highlight the information that's being presented.
The only thing that really irked me was the way that McHugh wrote out the accents of the people talking. That's one thing that drives me crazy... but I will say that it wasn't as annoying as I've seen it in other places, and I did find myself sounding out the words just to hear the accent.
This book may not be for everyone, and I'm sure that people will come away from it disappointed that it didn't live up to what it promised. But it was an entertaining read, and while I can't afford to get to Ireland at the present, this book (almost) made me feel like I was there.
September 26, 2013
The book opens with the author and his eventually-to-become-his-wife travel partner taking the ferry from Wales to Ireland.
“Choosing a ferry for our first taste of Guinness was a classic right time, wrong place situation. I know this now. Wrong. Very, very wrong. The taste was of something that had died a horrible death…. For a horrifying moment I suspected there had been a terrible misunderstanding of my pronunciation and what I had actually asked for was the ferry’s bilge. I was sure I knew where James Joyce got the inspiration for his description of those damned in hell in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. He’d drunk Guinness on this ferry.”
Shortly after their arrival in Ireland, they join friend Pat at a local pub and he insists they each have a pint of Guinness.
“’We tried this stuff on the ferry over,’ I explained.
‘Oh, you shouldn’ta doon that,’ Pat replied.
‘Why’s that?’
‘It’s fookin’ shite, that’s why. Now get that into ya. We’ve a lotta poobs ahead of us.’”
At subsequent “poobs” they’re told that, although the Guinness is good there, the best Guinness is in_________ (fill in the blank), and the merry crew ends up traveling Ireland in search of the perfect Guinness. It’s a funny book that’s part search, part travelogue, and part misadventures. Oh, and they find……Ah, but that will spoil the trip for you.
February 9, 2013
now *this* is what I was expecting (and didn't get) when I picked up 'McCarthy's Bar'.
Australian Evan McHugh goes to Ireland with his girlfriend of sorts (who he'd later marry) Twidkiwodm/Michelle and travels around the country. The main point of his trip is to find the 'perfect Guinness' so he visits a *lot* of bars, where he often gets friendly with the locals and other travellers from all around the world - several of whom he and Michelle actually meet more than once. But whichever bar he goes to, and however good the Guinness, the people at the bar tell him the best Guinness is somewhere else.
As well as a search for the perfect pint, Evan and Michelle have a lot of experiences - drinking the dreaded and famed 'poteen', windsurfing on an ice-cold Irish lake with a one armed guy, rowing on a lake in Killarney with a German bagpiper, and meeting lots of people - native Irish and people from all around the world with connections and a fascination to Ireland that match his own as he and Michelle hitchhike from place to place, hostel to hostel.
The perfect homage to Ireland, in which the author learns about Ireland, has some not-so-great experiences, but most of all just has fun, and takes real pleasure in being in Ireland.
Australian Evan McHugh goes to Ireland with his girlfriend of sorts (who he'd later marry) Twidkiwodm/Michelle and travels around the country. The main point of his trip is to find the 'perfect Guinness' so he visits a *lot* of bars, where he often gets friendly with the locals and other travellers from all around the world - several of whom he and Michelle actually meet more than once. But whichever bar he goes to, and however good the Guinness, the people at the bar tell him the best Guinness is somewhere else.
As well as a search for the perfect pint, Evan and Michelle have a lot of experiences - drinking the dreaded and famed 'poteen', windsurfing on an ice-cold Irish lake with a one armed guy, rowing on a lake in Killarney with a German bagpiper, and meeting lots of people - native Irish and people from all around the world with connections and a fascination to Ireland that match his own as he and Michelle hitchhike from place to place, hostel to hostel.
The perfect homage to Ireland, in which the author learns about Ireland, has some not-so-great experiences, but most of all just has fun, and takes real pleasure in being in Ireland.
September 26, 2011
I liked the premise of this book. It's about finding the perfect pint of Guinness. And in order to do this, the author reasons, you have to go to Ireland. I can get on board with that. The first third of the book is fun. It details his arrival in Ireland, and the many pubs his Irish friends and guides take him to. The remaining two thirds of the book is literally a travelogue. Mind you, it isn't terrible. It's just that the theme deviates a little. At the start, it's all about the beer and the pubs. After that, it's more about the history, culture, and fellow travelers he encounters. (And in my opinion, he doesn't think highly of Americans. Every time he describes one, it's less than favorable. But I guess he's not alone there. Still, I have my pride.) The pubs and Guinness kind of become secondary after the first third. It's still a well written, fun book. And the last chapter does a really nice job tying the whole of the book together. It's not a waste of time, and if anything, it's just reinforced my desire to visit Ireland even more.
February 22, 2009
Pint-sized Ireland is a fun and engaging read. The author shares his vacation around Ireland that evolves into the search for the perfect pint of Guinness.
Evan and his traveling companion go from the worst Guinness they can imagine to finding the answer to where to find the perfect pint. Their journey takes them up one side of Ireland and back down the other.
Along the way they are carted, cajoled, and cared for by the locals and fellow travelers. They find that Ireland has more pubs than hotels, and more stories about Guinness that one might imagine.
A good read as the author relates much about the land its self, its people, and its history. We meet several of the locals, we are with him as he scales a mountain, and stand beside him in awe with each new discovery.
I recommend this book to those who love Ireland, and those that love Guinness, and finally to those that just love a good old fashioned pub crawl.
Evan and his traveling companion go from the worst Guinness they can imagine to finding the answer to where to find the perfect pint. Their journey takes them up one side of Ireland and back down the other.
Along the way they are carted, cajoled, and cared for by the locals and fellow travelers. They find that Ireland has more pubs than hotels, and more stories about Guinness that one might imagine.
A good read as the author relates much about the land its self, its people, and its history. We meet several of the locals, we are with him as he scales a mountain, and stand beside him in awe with each new discovery.
I recommend this book to those who love Ireland, and those that love Guinness, and finally to those that just love a good old fashioned pub crawl.
March 22, 2019
I loved this book, it is not great literature but, it is delightful nonetheless. It is well written and made me want to be back in Ireland. I do not think I will ever be a fan o de Guinness, but, the best one I ever had was at the top of the factory in Dublin. He makes his travels come alive with the places, faces, and new friends he makes along the way.
March 18, 2014
I don't drink alcohol, but I would love to visit Ireland and thought this sounded like a cute way to present a travel memoir. McHugh is a good writer and I enjoyed that he wrote the dialogue how he heard it: "Would a short roid in a taxi be alroit? It wouldn't cost ye mooch". He and his traveling companion, Twidkiwodm, carried backpacks, hitchhiked, and stayed in hostels, so the book was a much about the type of people he met in private vehicles and hostels as those who frequent pubs ("poobs). McHugh is Australian and some of his idioms and jokes didn't translate well. He also never explains how Twidkiwodm's name "sounds like Michelle". (Huh?) That withstanding, this is a fun, quick read.
June 12, 2015
A humorous and entertaining effort from a Australian couple who start upon a holiday in Ireland and, in probably only his eyes, embark on a quest to find where the perfect pint of Guinness is. Whether it is in the brewery in Dublin or best serve within the city walls or afar is debatable but this authors story seems to be one of coming across locals who tell of folklore or pass saged wisdom only to find that down the next part of their hitch hiked odyssey is that its a load of 'ould shoite' and the best pint is over there. Its funny and entertaining, but not because of the prose of author but of the wild goose chase he is unwittingly sent upon.
April 21, 2023
This is a great read, especially if like me you're going to Ireland. I picked this book up at one of my favorite used book stores just in time for the trip. It is a great travel log of the author's trip to Ireland with his future wife. You learn of their roaming through Ireland in search of the perfect Guinness. I loved hearing about all the people they met and the wonderful places they visited while on their search. The author writes in a very humorous way and his ending wrapped the book up perfectly. I can only hope that I meet as many fun people and that I get to drink as much Guinness as Evan did.
July 14, 2008
I saw this book in Davis Kidd, drawn to it by its cover(I'm a sucker for Guinness). I got it for my birthday and started reading it that night...only to hit a slump. It was OK. I love Ireland, craic, pints, traveling, but McHugh was a man and an Australian to boot. Somehow, his writing and my absorption didn't connect. His best writing was in the final chapter "last drinks" where I found I couldn't agree with him more. The best pints of Guinness are found...well, read it and find out! Slainte!
June 9, 2013
This is an enjoyable easy read that provides the reader/future traveler with an insight into the Irish community from the perspective of a backpacking world traveler. McHugh documents his search of the best pint of Guinness in Ireland and the adventures, cultural experiences and friendships made along the way, through hostel stays and hitch-hiking, pub crawling and mountain climbing. He offers readers a travel experience outside of the typical tour guided trip that can lead to a variety of opportunities at just the right time and place.
March 23, 2017
I enjoyed the Dublin and Killarney portions of this book, as it brought back fond memories of my trip there in the late 90s. It didn't hold my attention for areas I'd not visited, so I lost interest and stopped midway through.
The book reads more like an outline, than a travelogue. Or like something I'd write, reminiscing about my trip to Ireland 20 years ago, and not remembering much detail. Occasionally there is a passage that makes you think the author is capable of much more interesting writing...ultimately frustrating because there is otherwise so little of it in this book.
The book reads more like an outline, than a travelogue. Or like something I'd write, reminiscing about my trip to Ireland 20 years ago, and not remembering much detail. Occasionally there is a passage that makes you think the author is capable of much more interesting writing...ultimately frustrating because there is otherwise so little of it in this book.
October 8, 2007
I think I'd actually like to give this 3-1/2 stars, but I can't. This is about the author's (Australian) travels through Ireland to find the perfect pint of Guinness. He comes to the conclusion >>spoiler alert!!!<<< that the perfect pint is the one you have in your hand, wherever you are. It was pretty funny and his adventures interesting. Mostly I liked it because I want to visit Ireland myself, so I kind of felt like I was there.
March 22, 2013
As a travelogue this is brilliant..humorous, insightful, and colorful. There were many things I loved about this book, (written by an Australian who hitchhiked through Ireland a few weeks), but most of all I loved that he spelled the words that the Irish spoke to him as they sound, such as Dooblin for Dublin, ejeet for idiot, shoot oop for shut up, moit for might, dere for there etc. I loved this book so much, I've already ordered my own copy.
July 31, 2007
I gave this to my dad for father's day, and after watching him read it and giggle the whole way through, I borrowed it and did the same. It is a funny travelogue full of interesting fellow travelers. It made me pine for that trip to Ireland that I have wanted to take since I first saw "The Quiet Man."
August 31, 2007
This was given to me as a gift before I left for Ireland, and I read it on and off during my stay here and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author and Twidkiwodm (an acronym for "The woman I didn't know I would one day marry") cover a lot of ground, and their country-wide pub crawl results in a light-hearted travel memoir, packed with fun facts and observations. A great vacation read.
July 30, 2008
Not everyone loves Guinness, but for those who do, here's an entertaining read by an Australian who decides to travel all around Ireland, following the locals' advice as to where to find a perfectly pulled brew. The author gives a rollicking good impression of the excellent craic found in Irish pubs: music, storytelling, camaraderie, and, of course, Guinness.
July 12, 2011
A very fun and quick read, a travelogue told from the perspective of a guy in search of the perfect beer. Along the way McHugh provides some vivid descriptions of Ireland's pristine countryside, the age-old pubs and historical landmarks, and the warmth of the Irish people that make the island such a popular destination.
August 17, 2011
The book is 10 years old, but then, it sounds like nothing much changes in Ireland, so I took notes on pub names in case we're in some of the same towns on our up-coming trip. McHugh ran into, or almost drowned with, some interesting characters, such as the German bagpiper in the rowboat.
I look forward to drinking Guinness in Ireland, but doubt I'll have as many as McHugh and his friends did.
I look forward to drinking Guinness in Ireland, but doubt I'll have as many as McHugh and his friends did.
March 1, 2016
I like travel memoirs, and this is one that includes places I've been. A few great "travel is life" wisdom nuggets, too, make this a good find. Don't let the title fool you--it's not really about beer drinking; there's a real theme throughout and travelers who have hitched, and hostelled, and trudged will appreciate a lot of this book.
December 26, 2008
My nephew recommended this as I love Guinness. I loved the book, especially because it was also a tour of Ireland, so I saw some of the country through it. There was a bit too much drinking in it for me personally, but I should have expected that from the title. A fun read.
March 21, 2009
"The perfect Guinness is really just a matter of being in the right place at the right time." This is a fun book, The author is going around Ireland drinking Guinness at any pub. Even though there are better Irish stouts than Guinness, the above quote from the book still holds true.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews