McCarthy’s Bar (Co.Tipperary)

“Established by Michael McCarthy in the 1840’s McCarthy’s Hotel provided the services of a spirit merchant, restaurant, hotel, undertaker, draper, grocer, baker, hackney service, glass, delph and china shop and if you still couldn’t get what you want – hire a few horses to take you elsewhere.” Now owned by a fifth generation, McCarthy’s has continued its affiliation with horses, notably the Tipperary Foxhounds. A recent report noted that “At the beginning of a Tipperary Foxhounds hunt, “Jasper” Murphy of McCarthy’s Bar “was on hand to dispense some light and not so light refreshments to those gathered to carry them through the rigours of the day ahead”, and a 07 November 2025 hunting report relating to the Tipperary Foxhounds noted that”in the absence of Jasper, hospitality duties were ably handled by Jane Farrell, who liberally dispensed hot ports to all and sundry without distinction between foot and mounted.” Alcohol and killing wildlife, a grand tradition – of the 1800s perhaps, but surely not in the 21st Century. Foxhunting is (shamefully) still legal in Eire and Northern Ireland, but pressure is mounting to end this anomalous barbarity…