Dervla Murphy died last year, at 90. If you don’t know who she was, then let this short video introduce you. I was turned on to her work by Julie Snyder. And as it turns out, Murphy was an OG explorer, with a fearless approach to adventure, and a facility with the English language that made her one of the last century’s foremost travel writers.
Her most famous work is Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle, which chronicles a six-month bike trip through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India in the early ’60s. It is tempting to say the world is too small for this sort of escapade now, or that Murphy was the last of a rough-and-ready breed, though I desperately hope that’s not true.
Thank you. Thoughtful piece.
Sounds like a great read. Thanks for the tip, John.