Murder of Ashling Murphy

Ashling Murphy (6 July 1998 – 12 January 2022) was an Irish primary school teacher, traditional Irish musician and camogie player who was murdered in January 2022 while walking on the towpath of the Grand Canal at Cappincur, outside Tullamore, County Offaly. Her death gave rise to widespread public grief, as well as outrage over violence against women, and tens of thousands of people attended vigils in her memory. The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and other Irish government ministers attended her funeral in Mountbolus, County Offaly, on 18 January.

In the days following Murphy's death, the Gardaí (Irish police) questioned 31-year-old Slovak Romani father-of-five Jozef Puška, who was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. On 9 November 2023, following a three-week trial at Dublin's Central Criminal Court, a jury found Puška guilty by unanimous verdict. The jury heard that he had stabbed Murphy 11 times in the neck, causing her to die from cardio-respiratory arrest following acute blood loss. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. His wife, two of his brothers, and their wives—all Slovakian nationals in their 30s—face charges of withholding information relating to the murder investigation or with impeding an arrest. The trials of all five will begin at the Central Criminal Court in April 2025.

Murphy's family subsequently established the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund, a registered charity that supports the traditional Irish arts, culture, and heritage for young people. Her alma mater, Mary Immaculate College, and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation jointly established an educational scholarship in her name. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann also established memorial scholarships, and the Camogie Association renamed championship trophies in her memory. A permanent memorial has been constructed at the site of her murder. Provided by Wikipedia