Globe Corner Blogs

My telling green sweater and shamrock pendant will lead most to believe (correctly) that I have Irish in my blood. The people who (incorrectly) believe I want to be kissed because I’m Irish will be surprised to know that I scoff at most St. Patrick’s celebrations. Sure, I suppose it’s a great excuse to drink pint after pint of Guinness and wear bouncy green shamrock antenna things, but if you’re not really Irish, how can you know you’re doing it right?

For those who aren’t Irish (and I’m sorry about that) the best method for ensuring as traditional a St. Patty’s Day experience as possible is to do your homework. One may not be surprised to learn that there are many books about Ireland that center around drinking – both as an attraction for tourists and as a national past-time.

A few suggestions one can find on the Globe Corner bookshelves include the newly released A Pint of Plain: Tradition, Change, and the Fate of the Irish Pub. When author Bill Barich moved to Dublin he wanted to find a real Irish pub of his own–an old watering hole where the barkeep knew how to pour a Guinness and musicians gathered to play traditional Irish music. Barich discovered finding this was a more difficult task than he imagined.

Another new book combines beer with one of the other most Irish of traditions: golf. Tom Coyne knows the two go together. A Course Called Ireland is written by a man who hiked around the coast of Ireland in sixteen weeks, hitting sixty golf courses and innumerable pubs.

Two other books combine the quest narrative form with the need to curl up in a friendly bar with a frothy pint and nest for a few hours. And who can blame them? Pete McCarthy’s journey follows a specific rule that we all should live by–always go into every bar with your name on it. So in McCarthy’s Bar: a Journey of Discovery in Ireland, that’s exactly what he does. Were I so lucky to have such a name, I’d do the same.

The second, Pint-Sized Ireland by Evan McHugh, follows the author crossing Ireland, sampling pints of Guinness in every town he passes through. Purportedly he is searching for the perfect pour, but really he’s living out the perfect tour.

Read more: Book Reviews, Holidays, Ireland, Travel Writing


Llalan specializes in all things Ohio, but has funny stories from all over the US and Canada, plus a few snort-inducing ones from Thailand. And not only does she read books from around the world, she also samples beers in as many languages as possible. Favorite style: the multi-national American Double IPA.

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