AUTHOR Pete McCarthy has written his own version of Treasure Ireland...

He was desperate to unearth his Irish roots when he penned the best-selling McCarthy's Bar which tells of his odyssey around the Emerald Isle.

It's full of wonderful anecdotes, incidents and happy accidents as the half-Irish McCarthy explores his other home.

Now his new book The Road to McCarthy continues his journey to find all things Irish but in all parts of the World.

It all adds up to a talent which lives up to its publicity; he's a man who can't resist adventure, danger and stout!

The television and radio presenter McCarthy brings his talents to Worcester when he appears at Huntingdon Hall on Wednesday, July 10.

He promises an evening of fun and frivolity combining his writing talents with his accomplished live performance (he was nominated for a Perrier Award) of readings, anecdotes and audience questions.

After commiserating with McCarthy on Ireland's defeat in the World Cup, I asked him was he enjoying the success of McCarthy's Bar which sold half-a-million copies in less than a year and became a number one best-seller.

"You're an overnight success after 20 years! Being a successful writer is not like being a footballer, say. It impinges on your life as much as you want it to. I get recognised but I do get incredible warmth from people," he said.

This led to a episode, on this current tour, when a man came up to McCarthy in the street and said he had given his book to his mother who was in a hospice and she had laughed for two weeks!

McCarthy's Bar is an exploration of his own background navigated by public houses in Ireland which bear his name.

And this occupation is not without dangers as he'd had some feedback from one landlady in McCarthy's Bar in Westport, County Mayo after an episode which recorded a late night musical event.

"Apparently, I heard that she wants to give me a slap!" said McCarthy, not without a little pride.

But it's a serious business taking on the Irish on their own turf. "It's not sentimental or phoney. I am quite critical about some things in Ireland but it's a genuine way of writing. The way I write about alcohol for instance and the process of travelling strikes a chord with many people. And the way I write is very spontaneous. I am dictated to by the way things happen to me. I immerse myself in a place and its happy accidents. But if you look at the books, I am only doing the every day to day things that people do but with my eyes and my ears open, " he said.

Dedication to recording the place, people and events around him leads him to abandon such devices as mobile phones. He insists on writing using pen and paper. "I write by hand as it's an organic process of writing. I can't separate the pen and the mind, " he said.

This led him to try his hand at writing for a living after many years as a successful broadcaster on television and radio and comedian. He even served time as resident compere at The Comedy Store and is looking forward to his first visit to Worcester to publicise his new book The Road to McCarthy published this week.

"When I was doing the publicity for McCarthy's Bar, in New York, Sydney for instance, I realised that the whole theme of expat-Irish had only been scratched on the surface," he said.

The Road to...takes him on a epic pilgrimage to four continents in pursuit of far-flung Irish connections. He travels from Cork and Belfast to Gibraltar, Morocco, New York, Tasmania, Montserrat, Montana and Alaska. His new book, and his appearance in Worcester, are both awaited with much eagerness by readers and publicans.

Pete McCarthy will appear at Huntingdon Hall, Worcester at 8pm on Wednesday, July 10. Contact Huntingdon Hall on 01905 611427 for ticket information. The Road to McCarthy was published yesterday by Hodder & Stoughton.

l Pictures by Colin Thomas.