Your letters, your views...

Dervla Murphy (Viewpoints, 30 April) writes that “Livingstone may not be everyone’s pin-up boy but he does know his history” and quotes various facts about negotiations between the Nazis and the German Zionist organisation in 1933.

A new film about Dervla Murphy paints a fascinating picture of the 85-year-old travel writer, says Ellie O’Byrne

As Colm Tóibín appears on the famed BBC radio show, Richard Fitzpatrick looks at the selections of Irish stars who have already made the trip

John Donne provided the spark for Isabel Nolan’s exhibition in Bandon, writes Alan O’Riordan

I’ve just finished reading Dervla Murphy’s Between River and Seal: Encounters in Israel and Palestine. The contrast between Murphy’s narrative and Derek O’Flynn’s (from the Israeli embassy) letter last week is stark.

What’s going on this weekend

Here’s a round up of some of the best festival line-up’s country-wide, from Ailin Quinlan.

An endurance runner dubbed Ireland’s answer to Forrest Gump has arrived home after an epic four-year 50,000km run around the world.

An endurance runner dubbed Ireland’s answer to Forrest Gump has arrived home after an epic four-year 50,000km run around the world.

MORE than 650 Palestinians and 31 Israelis have died, so far, as a result of ‘Operation Protective Edge.’ For two weeks, each day’s news has brought fresh horrors: yesterday, 12-year-old Palestinian, Rabee Qasim, was killed by an Israeli shell as he led a donkey and cart through a Bedouin village.

From an Irish childhood to her travels through India, Rose Martin spends an extraordinary afternoon in conversation with author Dervla Murphy.

The Ennis Book Club Festival (March 7-9) is a reader’s delight. “Other literary festivals are about writing skills and getting published. Our workshops are different. One of our really popular events is called ‘Ten Books You Should Read’,” says chairperson, Ciana Campbell.

Photographer George Munday hopes to realise his dream by crowd-funding, where supporters pledge funds in advance.

Bébhinn Ramsay

Carl Dixon talks to twoof the top writers appearing at this year’s Immrama festival in Lismore

Dervla Murphy’s call for a boycott of Israel is one-sided and shows a misunderstanding of the facts, writes Boaz Modai

I refer to Dervla Murphy’s article (Feb 9), which was, in my opinion, a travesty.

In an open letter to Michael D Higgins, author Dervla Murphy , who is writing a book on the Middle East, argues why the president should not visit Israel as a state guest

BEFORE intrepid travel writer Dervla Murphy was born, her mother met a Romany woman in England who predicted that she would marry a small, slim, dark man and would live among trees and endure a long illness.

AWARD-winning travel writers such as Ranulph Fiennes, Jan Morris, Tim Severin and Damien Lewis will be travelling en masse to Co Waterford in June for the annual Immrama Festival of Travel Writers.

THE eyes of Europe and much of the world will be on Ireland when we vote on the new EU treaty — the Treaty of Lisbon — and particularly as it now seems we will be the only member state to have a referendum on it.

WRITING is hard work, Doris Lessing told the 500 people who gathered to hear her read on Saturday. “And keeping writing is even harder.”