Sir, – Your obituary for the wonderful Dervla Murphy (“A ground-breaking and fearless travel writer”, May 24th) rightly accentuated the “political stuff”, her critique of capitalism and her strong interest in human rights.
Deeply humane and acutely insightful, she was always nuanced but resolute when she encountered injustice.
Her commitment to the Palestinian people was particularly strong and she was eager to express this through direct acts of solidarity.
At almost 80 years, Dervla rang me in January 2011 to request a place on board the Saoirse, the Irish ship then preparing to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
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She fully understood the risks involved (nine activists had been shot dead by Israeli forces in late May 2010 when they attacked the Freedom Flotilla), but she was determined to go. We met a couple of times afterwards to plan the journey.
In the event, the launch was delayed and Dervla couldn’t join us at that time, although she did separately make her way by land to Gaza.
In March 2013, I chaired the Dublin launch of her subsequent book A Month by the Sea, an event hosted by Gaza Action Ireland.
Dervla was unflappable in many ways, but she was disturbed by what she had experienced in Palestine.
In an aside, she let me know that while she regretted not being able to join the flotilla, she hoped her books and articles would show where she stood.
Dervla Murphy was an extraordinary woman and will be missed. – Yours, etc,
FINTAN LANE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
