Ashling Murphy: Man charged over murder of Irish teacher Ashling Murphy

January 19, 2022

A man has been charged over the death of primary school teacher Ashling Murphy in Ireland.

Ms Murphy, 23, was attacked while out exercising beside a canal in Tullamore, County Offaly, last Wednesday.

A man aged in his 30s has been charged after being arrested on Tuesday.

Police have not yet said what he had been charged with.

He will appear before a special sitting of Tullamore District Court tonight at 8.15pm.

A second man arrested in connection with Ms Murphy's death has been released without charge.

On Tuesday, large crowds gathered in the village of Mountbolus and outside St Brigid's Church, where her funeral was held.

Mourners included Irish president Michael D Higgins and Irish premier Micheal Martin.

She was described as a "woman who lived the short years given to her to the full, who developed her talents, who reached out to others, who made a difference, who brought happiness and who was loved".

Pupils from Ms Murphy's class at Durrow National School formed a guard of honour while schools across Ireland observed a moment's silence at 11am.

Vigils have been held across Ireland and the world to remember Ms Murphy and to call for a change in tackling gender-based violence. A crowd of around 40 people walked along the canal today, to mark one week since her murder.

Mr Martin described her death as a "dark moment in Ireland's history".

"Our primary and necessary response to Ashling's death is clear - we want and need a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women and this will require all of us - as a society - to commit to lasting change," he told the Irish Parliament.

"Deputies will be aware that, led by (Justice) Minister (Helen) McEntee's department, we have been working on a new whole-of-government strategy to combat domestic, sexual, gender-based violence. Work on this project has been underway for the last 12 months and it is approaching conclusion.

"The fundamental goal of this strategy echoes so much of what has been asked for in recent days: zero tolerance of violence against women."

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