Dervla Murphy

Dervla Murphy (born 28 November 1931, Ireland) is a female touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books.

Early life

Dervla Murphy was born and raised in Lismore, County Waterford. Her parents were from Dublin and had moved to Lismore when her father was appointed the county librarian. When Dervla was a year old, her mother developed rheumatoid arthritis, from which she was to suffer for the rest of her life. They were advised not to have any more children, and therefore Dervla grew up as an only child. From a young age, she 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."

She attended secondary school at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford, but left at the age of 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.

During this time, a number of personal tragedies struck. Murphy's first lover, Godfrey, died abroad in 1958. 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 finally 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.

Travel writing

Generally traveling alone and unaided, she has been in dangerous situations, being attacked by wolves in the former Yugoslavia, robbed in Siberia, and running into Kalashnikov-toting soldiers in Ethiopia. However, she cites her worst incident as tripping over cats at home and shattering her left arm.

Full Tilt

In a blizzard in 1963, Murphy packed a pistol aboard Roz, her Armstrong Cadet bicycle, and set off on her first international bicycle tour - a self-supported solo trip from Ireland to India. In Yugoslavia, she began a journal instead of mailing letters. That was published as her first book Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle, in which she describes her adventures through Persia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She wrote lovingly of Afghanistan.

Before returning to Ireland, Murphy spent several months in Dharamsala with Tibetan refugees, which resulted in Tibetan Foothold. She then worked with another group of Tibetan refugees in Nepal (The Waiting Land). Her fourth book describes a journey through Ethiopia (In Ethiopia with a Mule).

Travels with Rachel

Murphy took a break from travel writing following the birth of her daughter, Rachel. When Rachel was five years old, her mother took her on her first extended trip, to India; they flew into Bombay and traveled to Goa and Coorg (On a Shoestring to Coorg). The pair later journeyed to Baltistan (Where the Indus is Young), South America (Eight Feet in the Andes), and Madagascar (Muddling through in Madagascar). Their last trip together was through Cameroon with a horse, where Dervla was frequently mistaken for Rachel's husband (Cameroon with Egbert).

On traveling with a child, she says:

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

Her 1982 book Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes was a change to more political issues including the Northern Ireland troubles (A Place Apart), race relations in Bradford and Birmingham (Tales From Two Cities), AIDS (The Ukimwi Road), the aftermath of apartheid (South from the Limpopo), and post-war reconstruction of the Balkans (Through the Embers of Chaos).

The "Irish babushka"

In 2002, at 71, she planned to cycle in the Ussuriland region of eastern Russia. However, she broke her knee while on the Baikal Amur Mainline railway, then tore a calf while recuperating at Lake Baikal. Her plans changed to a journey around Siberia by train, boat and bus, documented Through Siberia by Accident. She revisited Siberia and wrote a companion, Silverland. In 2005 she visited Cuba with her daughter and three granddaughters, and made two return trips alone in 2006 and 2007 (The Island that Dared).

Personal life and interests

In 1968 she gave birth to her only child, fathered by Irish Times journalist Terence de Vere White. She raised her daughter Rachel alone, "a brave choice in 1960s Ireland" , but felt herself secure financially and professionally and safe from criticism. She had written unpublishable novels, one about a mother and her illegitimate child.) Murphy spent the next 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 UK charity for sustainable travel and of the Lismore Immrama festival of travel writing.

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.
• Cameroon with Egbert, 1981
• Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes, 1982.
• Muddling through in Madagascar, 1985.
• Changing the Problem: Post-forum Reflections, 1985.
• Ireland, Orbis, 1985.
• Eight Feet in the Andes: Travels With a Mule in Unknown Peru, 1986.
• 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)

External links

Profiles

• Profile at Irish Writers Online
• The First Lady of Irish Cycling

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

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