Dervla Murphy
Encyclopedia
Dervla Murphy is an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books for over 40 years.
Murphy is best known for her 1965 book Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle, about an overland cycling trip through Europe
, Iran
, Afghanistan
, Pakistan
and India
. She followed this by volunteering with Tibetan
refugees in India and Nepal
, and trekking with a mule through Ethiopia
. Murphy took a break from travel writing following the birth of her daughter, and then wrote about her travels with Rachel in India, Pakistan, South America
, Madagascar
and Cameroon
. She later wrote about her solo trips through Romania
, Africa
, Laos
, the states of the former Yugoslavia
, and Siberia
. In 2005 she visited Cuba
with her daughter and three granddaughters.
Murphy has normally traveled alone and unaided, without luxuries and depending on the hospitality of local people. She has been in dangerous situations; for example, she was attacked by wolves in the former Yugoslavia, threatened by soldiers in Ethiopia, and robbed in Siberia. However, she described her worst incident as tripping over cats at home and shattering her left arm.
. Her parents were from Dublin and had moved to Lismore when her father was appointed county librarian
. When Murphy was one year old, her mother developed rheumatoid arthritis
, from which she suffered for the rest of her life. They were advised not to have any more children, and Dervla grew up as an only child
. From a young age, Murphy planned to travel:
Murphy attended secondary school at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford
, but left at age 14 to take care of her disabled mother. During her young adulthood she took a number of short trips (between 3 and 6 weeks): to Wales
and Southern England
in 1951; to Belgium
, Germany
, and France
in 1952; and two trips to Spain
in 1954 and 1956. She published a number of travel articles in the Hibernia journal and the Irish Independent
newspaper, but her Spanish travel book was rejected by publishers.
Murphy's first lover, Godfrey, died abroad in 1958 and her father became unexpectedly ill with nephritis
, a complication of influenza
, and died in February 1961. Her mother's health had been deteriorating for many years, and she died in August 1962. Her mother's death freed Murphy from her domestic duties and allowed her to make the extended trip for which she had long planned:
Murphy published an autobiography Wheels within Wheels in 1979, describing her life before the journey described in Full Tilt.
to India
. Taking a pistol along with other equipment aboard Roz, her Armstrong Cadet bicycle, she passed through Europe during one of the worst winters in years. In Yugoslavia
, Murphy began to write a journal instead of mailing letters. In Iran
she used her gun to frighten off a group of thieves, and "used unprintable tactics" to escape from an attempted rapist at a police station. She received her worst injury of the journey on a bus in Afghanistan
, when a rifle butt hit her and fractured three ribs; however, this only delayed her for a short while. She wrote appreciatively about the landscape and people of Afghanistan, calling herself "Afghanatical" and claiming that the Afghan "is a man after my own heart." In Pakistan
, she visited Swat (where she was a guest of the last wali
, Miangul Aurangzeb
) and the mountain area of Gilgit
. The final leg of her trip took her through the Punjab region
and over the border to India towards Delhi
. Her journal was later published by John Murray
as her first book Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle.
After arriving in Delhi, Murphy volunteered to work with Tibetan refugees under the auspices of Save the Children
. She spent five months in a refugee camp in Dharamsala
run by Tsering Dolma, sister of the 14th Dalai Lama
. She then cycled through the Kullu Valley, spending Christmas in Malana. Her journals for this time were published in her second book, Tibetan Foothold.
On returning to Europe, Murphy took part in a fundraising campaign for Save the Children, and in 1965 she worked with another group of Tibetan refugees in Pokhara
, Nepal
(described in The Waiting Land).
In 1966, Murphy made her first trip to Africa. She travelled to Ethiopia
and walked with a pack mule from Asmara
to Addis Ababa
, confronted by Kalashnikov
-carrying soldiers on the way. This journey was described in her fourth book, In Ethiopia with a Mule.
and Coorg (described in On a Shoestring to Coorg). The pair later journeyed to Baltistan
(Where the Indus is Young), Peru
(Eight Feet in the Andes), and Madagascar
(Muddling through in Madagascar). Their last trip was through Cameroon
on a horse, where Dervla was frequently mistaken for Rachel's husband (Cameroon with Egbert).
On traveling with a child, she wrote:
and encounters with members of the Protestant and Catholic religious communities. She credits her 1982 book Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes as a turning point which led her to write more about political issues. In 1985, she lived for several months in Bradford
and Birmingham
, talking to members of the Asian, Afro-Caribbean and White communities and witnessing first-hand one of the Handsworth riots (described in Tales From Two Cities). In 1992, she cycled from Kenya
to Zimbabwe
where she witnessed the impact of AIDS
; when describing this journey in The Ukimwi Road, she criticised the role of non-governmental organizations in sub-Saharan Africa
. Her other writings include discussions about the aftermath of apartheid (South from the Limpopo) and the Rwandan genocide
(Visiting Rwanda), the displacement of tribal peoples
(One Foot in Laos), and post-war reconstruction of the Balkans
(Through the Embers of Chaos).
She is anti-globalization
and critical of NATO, the World Bank
, the International Monetary Fund
, and the World Trade Organisation. She has spoken out against nuclear power
and climate change
.
Murphy stated that some readers disapproved of the "political stuff", but another group "tells me they haven't thought about these things in this way before and are glad that I've written and thought more about the political side. My view is that I have these things I want to say and I don't really care if it spoils a pure travel book."
. She broke her knee while on the Baikal Amur Mainline railway, then tore a calf while recuperating at Lake Baikal
and her plans changed to a journey around Siberia
by train, boat and bus, documented in Through Siberia by Accident. She revisited Siberia and wrote a companion book, Silverland. In 2005, she visited Cuba
with her daughter and three granddaughters, and made two returning trips in 2006 and 2007 (described in The Island that Dared).
She is currently working on a book about the Middle East and her encounters with Israelis and Palestinians.
. Her decision to raise her daughter alone was described as "a brave choice in 1960s Ireland" by The Sunday Business Post
, although she said she felt safe from criticism because she was in her 30s and was financially and professionally secure. Following Rachel's birth, she spent five years as a book reviewer before returning to travel writing.
Murphy lives in Lismore with five dogs and three cats. She is a patron of Sustrans
, a British charity for sustainable travel and of the Lismore Immrama Festival of Travel Writing.
In 2009 Murphy appeared on the BBC Radio 4
programme Great Lives
, nominating Freya Stark
as a Great Life, supported by expert John Murray VII of the publishing family
.
She plans to join an aid flotilla sailing for Gaza at the end of March 2011.
Murphy is best known for her 1965 book Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle, about an overland cycling trip through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She followed this by volunteering with Tibetan
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
refugees in India and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, and trekking with a mule through Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Murphy took a break from travel writing following the birth of her daughter, and then wrote about her travels with Rachel in India, Pakistan, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. She later wrote about her solo trips through Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, the states of the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. In 2005 she visited Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
with her daughter and three granddaughters.
Murphy has normally traveled alone and unaided, without luxuries and depending on the hospitality of local people. She has been in dangerous situations; for example, she was attacked by wolves in the former Yugoslavia, threatened by soldiers in Ethiopia, and robbed in Siberia. However, she described her worst incident as tripping over cats at home and shattering her left arm.
Early life
Dervla Murphy was born and raised in Lismore, County WaterfordLismore, County Waterford
Lismore is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is located where the N72 road crosses the River Blackwater.-History:It was founded by Saint Mochuda, also known as Saint Carthage. In the 7th century, Lismore was the site of the well-known Lismore Abbey. It is also home to Lismore Castle, the...
. Her parents were from Dublin and had moved to Lismore when her father was appointed county librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
. When Murphy was one year old, her mother developed rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
, from which she suffered for the rest of her life. They were advised not to have any more children, and Dervla grew up as an only child
Only child
An only child is a person with no siblings, either biological or adopted. In a family with multiple offspring, first-borns, may be briefly considered only children and have a similar early family environment, but the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have...
. From a young age, Murphy planned to travel:
For my tenth birthday my parents gave me a second-hand bicycle and Pappa [her grandfather] sent me a second-hand atlas. Already I was an enthusiastic cyclist, though I had never before owned a bicycle, and soon after my birthday I resolved to cycle to India one day. I have never forgotten the exact spot, on a steep hill near Lismore, where this decision was made. Half-way up I rather proudly looked at my legs, slowly pushing the pedals around, and the thought came "If I went on doing this for long enough I could get to India."
Murphy attended secondary school at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, but left at age 14 to take care of her disabled mother. During her young adulthood she took a number of short trips (between 3 and 6 weeks): to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Southern England
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
in 1951; to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1952; and two trips to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1954 and 1956. She published a number of travel articles in the Hibernia journal and the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
newspaper, but her Spanish travel book was rejected by publishers.
Murphy's first lover, Godfrey, died abroad in 1958 and her father became unexpectedly ill with nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
, a complication of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, and died in February 1961. Her mother's health had been deteriorating for many years, and she died in August 1962. Her mother's death freed Murphy from her domestic duties and allowed her to make the extended trip for which she had long planned:
The hardships and poverty of my youth had been a good apprenticeship for this form of travel. I had been brought up to understand that material possessions and physical comfort should never be confused with success, achievement and security.
Murphy published an autobiography Wheels within Wheels in 1979, describing her life before the journey described in Full Tilt.
Full Tilt and other early writings
In 1963, Murphy set off on her first long-distance bicycle tour - a self-supported trip from IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Taking a pistol along with other equipment aboard Roz, her Armstrong Cadet bicycle, she passed through Europe during one of the worst winters in years. In Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, Murphy began to write a journal instead of mailing letters. In Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
she used her gun to frighten off a group of thieves, and "used unprintable tactics" to escape from an attempted rapist at a police station. She received her worst injury of the journey on a bus in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, when a rifle butt hit her and fractured three ribs; however, this only delayed her for a short while. She wrote appreciatively about the landscape and people of Afghanistan, calling herself "Afghanatical" and claiming that the Afghan "is a man after my own heart." In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, she visited Swat (where she was a guest of the last wali
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...
, Miangul Aurangzeb
Miangul Aurangzeb
Miangul Aurangzeb, the last Wali Ahad of Swat State, was born May 28, 1928 in Saidu Sharif. He has served in the National Assembly of Pakistan as well as the Governor of Balochistan and later as Governor of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa....
) and the mountain area of Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
. The final leg of her trip took her through the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and over the border to India towards Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. Her journal was later published by John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
as her first book Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle.
After arriving in Delhi, Murphy volunteered to work with Tibetan refugees under the auspices of Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
. She spent five months in a refugee camp in Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
run by Tsering Dolma, sister of the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
. She then cycled through the Kullu Valley, spending Christmas in Malana. Her journals for this time were published in her second book, Tibetan Foothold.
On returning to Europe, Murphy took part in a fundraising campaign for Save the Children, and in 1965 she worked with another group of Tibetan refugees in Pokhara
Pokhara
Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City is the second largest city of Nepal. Pokhara is city of close to 350,000 inhabitants in central Nepal located at 28.25°N, 83.99°E, which is the centre of the country from east to west or from north to south, 198 km west of Kathmandu or 90 km west of Mugling, and...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
(described in The Waiting Land).
In 1966, Murphy made her first trip to Africa. She travelled to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and walked with a pack mule from Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, confronted by Kalashnikov
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
-carrying soldiers on the way. This journey was described in her fourth book, In Ethiopia with a Mule.
Travels with Rachel
Murphy's daughter Rachel accompanied her on a trip to India at the age of five; they flew into Bombay and traveled to GoaGoa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
and Coorg (described in On a Shoestring to Coorg). The pair later journeyed to Baltistan
Baltistan
Baltistan , also known as بلتیول བལིུལ་ in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan which forms Gilgit-Baltistan, bordering the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. In addition, a part of Baltistan also falls into Jammu and Kashmir of India. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains...
(Where the Indus is Young), Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(Eight Feet in the Andes), and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
(Muddling through in Madagascar). Their last trip was through Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
on a horse, where Dervla was frequently mistaken for Rachel's husband (Cameroon with Egbert).
On traveling with a child, she wrote:
A child's presence emphasises your trust in the community's goodwill. And because children pay little attention to racial or cultural differences, junior companions rapidly demolish barriers of shyness or apprehension often raised when foreigners unexpectedly approach a remote village.
Politicization
In 1978, Murphy wrote A Place Apart, about her travels in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and encounters with members of the Protestant and Catholic religious communities. She credits her 1982 book Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes as a turning point which led her to write more about political issues. In 1985, she lived for several months in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, talking to members of the Asian, Afro-Caribbean and White communities and witnessing first-hand one of the Handsworth riots (described in Tales From Two Cities). In 1992, she cycled from Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
where she witnessed the impact of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
; when describing this journey in The Ukimwi Road, she criticised the role of non-governmental organizations in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. Her other writings include discussions about the aftermath of apartheid (South from the Limpopo) and the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
(Visiting Rwanda), the displacement of tribal peoples
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
(One Foot in Laos), and post-war reconstruction of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
(Through the Embers of Chaos).
She is anti-globalization
Anti-globalization
Criticism of globalization is skepticism of the claimed benefits of the globalization of capitalism. Many of these views are held by the anti-globalization movement however other groups also are critical of the policies of globalization....
and critical of NATO, the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, and the World Trade Organisation. She has spoken out against nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
Murphy stated that some readers disapproved of the "political stuff", but another group "tells me they haven't thought about these things in this way before and are glad that I've written and thought more about the political side. My view is that I have these things I want to say and I don't really care if it spoils a pure travel book."
"Irish babushka"
In 2002, aged 71, Murphy planned to cycle in the Ussuriland region of eastern RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. She broke her knee while on the Baikal Amur Mainline railway, then tore a calf while recuperating at Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
and her plans changed to a journey around Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
by train, boat and bus, documented in Through Siberia by Accident. She revisited Siberia and wrote a companion book, Silverland. In 2005, she visited Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
with her daughter and three granddaughters, and made two returning trips in 2006 and 2007 (described in The Island that Dared).
She is currently working on a book about the Middle East and her encounters with Israelis and Palestinians.
Personal life and interests
Murphy never married. In 1968 she gave birth to her only child, Rachel, fathered by Irish Times journalist Terence de Vere WhiteTerence de Vere White
Terence de Vere White was an Irish writer, lawyer and editor.Born in Dublin, he studied at Trinity College, Dublin where he qualified as a solicitor and became a partner in a leading Dublin law firm. He gave up law when he became the literary editor of The Irish Times from 1961 to 1977...
. Her decision to raise her daughter alone was described as "a brave choice in 1960s Ireland" by The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday newspaper published by Post Publications Limited. Post Publications is owned by Thomas Crosbie Holdings. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Ireland, the average weekly circulation was 57,783 for the period January to June 2009. The...
, although she said she felt safe from criticism because she was in her 30s and was financially and professionally secure. Following Rachel's birth, she spent five years as a book reviewer before returning to travel writing.
Murphy lives in Lismore with five dogs and three cats. She is a patron of Sustrans
Sustrans
Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
, a British charity for sustainable travel and of the Lismore Immrama Festival of Travel Writing.
In 2009 Murphy appeared on the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme Great Lives
Great Lives
Great Lives is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol. It is presented by Matthew Parris. A distinguished guest is asked to nominate the person they feel is truly deserving of the title "Great Life". Matthew and a recognised expert are on hand to discuss the life...
, nominating Freya Stark
Freya Stark
Dame Freya Madeline Stark, Mrs. Perowne, DBE was a British explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels, which were mainly in Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan....
as a Great Life, supported by expert John Murray VII of the publishing family
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
.
She plans to join an aid flotilla sailing for Gaza at the end of March 2011.
Publications
- Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle, 1965.
- Tibetan Foothold, 1966.
- The Waiting Land: A Spell in Nepal, 1967.
- In Ethiopia with a Mule, 1968.
- On a Shoestring to Coorg: An Experience of South India, 1976.
- Where the Indus is Young: A Winter in Baltistan, 1977.
- A Place Apart, 1978.
- Wheels Within Wheels (autobiography), 1979.
- Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes, 1982.
- Eight Feet in the Andes: Travels With a Mule in Unknown Peru, 1983.
- Muddling through in Madagascar, 1985.
- Changing the Problem: Post-forum Reflections, 1985.
- Ireland, Orbis, 1985.
- Tales From Two Cities: Travels of Another Sort, 1987.
- Cameroon With Egbert, 1990.
- Transylvania and Beyond, 1993.
- The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe, 1995.
- Visiting Rwanda, 1998.
- South From the Limpopo: Travels Through South Africa, 1999.
- One Foot in Laos, 2001
- Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys, 2003.
- Through Siberia by Accident, 2005.
- Silverland: A Winter Journey Beyond the Urals, 2006
- The Island That Dared, 2008 (Travels in Cuba)
Profiles
Book reviews
- The Perils of Dervla Murphy Clifford L. Graves reviews Full Tilt, The Best of Bicycling, Jan 1969
- Not a person to murder Barbara Trapido reviews South From The Limpopo, The Spectator, Oct 4, 1997
- Peddling Strong Views on Laos Alain Gilloux reviews One Foot in Laos, Asiaweek, July 14, 2000
- On a Shoestring to Coorg Shriram Krishnamurthi reviews On a Shoestring to Coorg, Brown University, Feb 2005
- The intrepid Irish babushka Rory Maclean reviews Silverland, The Telegraph, Nov 26, 2006
- Cuba on the cusp of change JS Tennant reviews The Island that Dared, Irish Times, Oct 18, 2008
Interviews
- Trailblazer Joanne Hayden, Sunday Business Post, Aug 18, 2002
- Free wheeler Nicholas Wroe, The Guardian, Apr 15, 2006
- On Top of the World Vicky Allan, Sunday Herald, Jan 20, 2007
- Interview with Dervla Murphy Rachel Moffat, Studies in Travel Writing website, 2009
- The Light of Lismore - The Saturday Interview: Dervla Murphy Irish Times, 20 February 2010