MURPHY’S LAW: THREE OF HER BEST BOOKS

FULL TILT: IRELAND TO INDIA WITH A BICYCLE (1965)

Dervla’s debut recounts an epic ride to India.

Setting out from Lismore in 1963, she travelled via Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan on her trusty bicycle, facing 50ft snowdrifts in the Turkish highlands and some punishing pedalling through the heat of the Himalayan summer. Eland, £14.99

A PLACE APART (1978)

At the height of the Troubles, aiming to put aside the sectarian loyalties that might have come from her own family connections to the IRA, Dervla cycled to Northern Ireland to try to unpick the situation, creating a travelogue that features revealing interviews and exchanges with locals on both sides of the divide. Eland, £13.99

THROUGH SIBERIA BY ACCIDENT (2006)

Due to a leg injury, Dervla had to rethink her trip to Ussuriland, a Russian outpost, to explore the territories of Siberia instead. There she found humbling hospitality during a journey of self-discovery and contradiction — human warmth and kindness against a bleak backdrop. John Murray Press, £10.99