1931-

Irish Writer and Traveler

Dervla Murphy is a fearless, female traveler who writes about her adventures with a straightforward punch. She travels simplistically by bicycle, by pony, or on foot, allowing her to truly connect with the people she encounters.

Murphy has been writing and traveling for over 30 years with no plans of stopping. Her first travel book, Full Tilt, describes her 1963 experience on a solo bicycle journey over 4,000 miles (6,436 km) from Dublin to New Delhi. She traveled with only one change of clothes, a toothbrush, and a .25 automatic pistol in her backpack. Luckily, she only had to use the gun on a pack of wild wolves she encountered while riding through Turkey.

Born in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland, on November 28, 1931, Murphy was an only child who dreamed of far away places. Her father, the county librarian, brought home picture books and Murphy would plot...