Personal Life and Interests
Murphy never married. In 1968 she gave birth to her only child, Rachel, fathered by Irish Times journalist Terence de Vere White. Her decision to raise her daughter alone was described as "a brave choice in 1960s Ireland" by The Sunday Business Post, although she said she felt safe from criticism because she was in her 30s and was financially and professionally secure. Following Rachel's birth, she spent five years as a book reviewer before returning to travel writing.
Murphy lives in Lismore with five dogs and three cats. She is a patron of Sustrans, a British charity for sustainable travel and of the Lismore Immrama Festival of Travel Writing.
In 2009 Murphy appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Great Lives, nominating Freya Stark as a Great Life, supported by expert John Murray VII of the publishing family.
She plans to join an aid flotilla sailing for Gaza at the end of March 2011.
Read more about this topic: Dervla Murphy
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