Some sad news in the paper today. Pete McCarthy has died after a battle with cancer.
Although not a ground breaking writer he will be missed simply for his ability to make people laugh out loud on the train. You can always tell when someone is reading one of his books (of which McCarthy’s Bar is the best) because they just can’t help themselves smiling.
In McCarthy’s bar he described many of the places I knew in my childhood visits to Ireland and I could “hear” the conversations!! He also had the same feeling of belonging there even though he had been brought up in England. We attended a reading of his at the local Wolsey Theatre and he was also a good performer – he autographed Dad’s copy of the Road to McCarthy. A sad loss so young.
Also Superman, Christpher Reeve died yesterday, another sad loss to the public and his family.