Ethel Crowley
Location: Cork, Ireland
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Bio
I am a writer based in Cork, Ireland. My background is in the academic world, specifically in the field of sociology. I have written about aspects of Irish society, like the changing role of women, development processes and EU social policy. I worked for many years as a lecturer at UCC and TCD. I also have a great interest in travel. More recently, I have been writing about my own travels and have produced an anthology of the writings of the Irish travel writer, Dervla Murphy.
PUBLICATIONS TO DATE:
Books:
(2023) Crowley, Ethel (ed.) Life at Full Tilt: The Selected Writings of Dervla Murphy
London; Eland Books.
(2013) Crowley, Ethel Your Place or Mine? Identity and Belonging in 21st Century
Ireland Dublin; Orpen Press.
(2010) Crowley, Ethel Daring to Dream: The Work of the Hope Foundation in India
Cork; Hope Foundation.
(2006) Crowley, Ethel Land Matters: Power Struggles in Rural Ireland
Dublin; Lilliput Press.
(1997) Crowley,Ethel & MacLaughlin,Jim (eds.) Under the Belly of the
Tiger: Class, Race, Identity and Culture in the Global Ireland
Dublin; Irish Reporter Publications.
Some Recent Newspaper Articles:
‘The Souls of Spain’ Irish Independent July 27 2024.
https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/europe/souls-of-spain-will-mass-tourism-spell-the-end-for-legendary-spanish-waiters-and-bar-staff/a1911215817.html
‘Following in My Friend Dervla Murphy’s Footsteps’ Mar 29 2024.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/following-in-my-friend-dervla-murphys-footsteps-she-was-always-ready-for-a-bit-of-craic-wherever-she-went/a1285188590.html
‘Dervla Murphy’s Irish Times’ Irish Times May 22 2023.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2023/05/22/dervla-murphys-irish-times-seven-decades-of-astute-observations-and-witty-writing/
‘Rebel City Walking: Discovering Cork on Foot’ Irish Examiner Mar 22 2021.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40247873.html
Books
Life at Full Tilt: The Selected Writings of Dervla Murphy
Description:
Between these covers we follow in the slipstream of the indefatigable Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy (1931-2022). Here we find descriptions of her beloved Afghanistan from her 1963 masterpiece Full Tilt, with accounts from the Peruvian Andes, of bicycling in South and East Africa and most recently of the journeys she made in the troubled territories of Palestine and Israel, published when she was 85. Editor Ethel Crowley has dug into the archive to unearth her first published journalism – about her cycle through Spain in 1956 when she was 24 – and has selected extracts from each of the 24 books which were to follow.
Endorsements & Review Quotes
Colin Thubron:
‘In a flow of lovingly selected passages, this beguiling anthology captures the heart of its subject: one of the most remarkable travelers of her time.’
Sara Wheeler:
‘Murphy lit the way for all of us. This sparkling volume is an apt memorial – the very best of Dervla. A fine selection, and a book to cherish and relish.’
Hilary Bradt:
‘Dervla Murphy was the leading travel writer of her generation, combining an intense curiosity about the lives of ordinary folk with a complete disregard for her own comfort. In this skilful selection of extracts, Ethel Crowley has chosen the most readable, eye-opening and fascinating pieces that highlight the character of this extraordinary woman.’
Barry Houlihan, Irish Times:
‘Crowley’s edition of selected writings by Dervla Murphy will bring the curiosity, humanity, energy, wit and fearlessness of Murphy to a new generation of readers.’
Maeve Brennan, Irish Examiner:
‘It is not easy for anyone to capture Dervla Murphy’s essence between the covers of one book but Cork sociologist Ethel Crowley does a fine job in this anthology of the late lamented travel writer’s work.’
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