Dervla Murphy: Courageous travel writer who abhorred fuss and luxury

'People are in control of the world and they need to behave responsibly when exercising that control'

A few weeks before she died peacefully at home in Lismore, West Waterford, Dervla Murphy contacted her closest friends for the last time to say goodbye.

As her final journey approached, Dervla Murphy sent out messages to her dearest friends bidding them farewell and thanking them for their valued friendship throughout her long life.

Acutely aware that the end was close at hand, Ireland’s most celebrated travel writer and intrepid globetrotter said her own personal adieu to a small circle of friends, the Irish Examiner has learnt.