IRISH cyclist and author Dervla Murphy will treat audiences to stories of her past adventures at Bradford’s first literature festival this Sunday, May 17. The 83-year-old – who lives in Waterford – is one of the headline guests at the festival, where she will divulge details of her trips through countries such as Iran, Cuba, Romania and Ethiopia.
Her passion for cycling stems from…
"I’ve always loved cycling. I got my first bike for my tenth birthday, and I recall thinking where I'd end up if I continued on peddling!"
The book she wrote on Ireland is particularly poignant because…
"In 1976, the Troubles in the North of Ireland were very bad. I had a moment of realisation as I stepped back and looked at my own country and all of the problems that were taking place. I felt guilt, and wanted to explore what was going on, so I decided to write a book."
Dervla Murphy (right) during a trip to Madagascar with her daughter Rachel, 14Britain was her home for a year, but interestingly, she didn’t come across many Irish folk…
"I spent a year in Britain collecting material about race-relations. It was in 1985, and I spent six months amongst the Pakistani community in Bradford and another six with Birmingham’s Afro-Caribbean population. Considering the large number of Irish living in cities such as Birmingham at the time, I have to say I hardly encountered any myself. I guess when you look back on it, it was slightly surprising."
She's globe-trotted to...
"There are plenty of countries I’ve trekked on foot, including: Nepal, Tibet, Ethiopia, Mexico, India and Moscow."
Her most frightening experience was…
"There was one occasion where I thought, 'I’m seriously in danger.' I’d been trekking through the highlands in Ethiopia, when a group of bandits robbed me on the shore. They’d been discussing whether to kill me or not, and that was a frightening moment."
She picks countries based on…
"Mostly, I chose to visit places where there were no motor roads. This is so I could trek with no interruption from tourists, visit unspoilt areas and at one point I even remember visiting places where they didn’t even use a currency!"
A young Dervla Murphy in BarcelonaHow long does it take her to write a book?
"My new book Between River and Sea took two and a half to three years to write, it’s definitely one of the longest. I’d lived in the West Bank in Gaza for three to four months, and then I’d lived in one of the biggest refugee camps in Palestine, before spending some time in Nazareth, Israel. After all that, I came home and that’s when I sat down to write."
Her top tip for budding travel writers…
"Always carry a journal. After walking 25 miles or cycling 100 miles, it’s important to write everything down that you encountered that day. No matter how tired I was, I’d always make sure that I’d come back and write."
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