Dervla Murphy was an Irish travel writer whose books included “Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle.”
- Died: May 22, 2022 (Who else died on May 22?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 90.
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A life of travel
Murphy dreamed of cycling from Ireland to India ever since she received her first bike at the age of 10 and began imagining the trip. She made that dream come true in her early 30s, traveling solo through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to her final destination of India. Murphy kept a journal as she traveled, documenting incidents including frightening off would-be thieves with the pistol she carried. Her journal was published as “Full Tilt,” the first of her nearly two dozen travel books. Murphy’s later travels included walking through Ethiopia and a train journey through Siberia. She also traveled closer to home when she bicycled through Northern Ireland and wrote about the political conflicts there in “A Place Apart.” Other travel chronicles by Murphy include “Muddling through in Madagascar,” “The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe,” and her most recent book, 2015’s “Between River and Sea: Encounters in Israel and Palestine.”
Notable quote
“If you don’t feel fear, you don’t have to be brave. You’re not brave when you’re never afraid. I’ve never been afraid travelling. …Well, unless something immediate happens, like when you think you’re going to be murdered.” —from a 2010 interview for the Irish Times
Tributes to Dervla Murphy
Full obituary: BBC
