|
Dervla Murphy (born 28 November 1931, in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland) 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 with volunteer work helping 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 travelled 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.〔Allan, Vicky (2007) (On Top of the World ) Sunday Herald, 20 January 2007〕 ==Early life== Dervla Murphy was born and brought up in Lismore, County Waterford. 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, D. (1979) ''Wheels Within Wheels.''〕
Murphy attended secondary school at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford, but left at age 14 to take care of her disabled mother. During young adulthood she took a number of short trips (between three and six 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:〔 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''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dervla Murphy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|