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SHE WAS GOING for a run. Those five words have been trending since yesterday evening following the tragic death of Ashling Murphy.
The 23-year-old teacher was killed when she was attacked along the canal bank in Tullamore, Co. Offaly yesterday afternoon.
A number of vigils are already being planned in memory of Ashling, including one in Galway tonight and more in Limerick and Dublin tomorrow.
The killing has shocked the nation in manner rarely seen, with Justice Minister Helen McEntee calling it “truly shocking”.
“I know people are feeling shocked but also angry and I share that anger,” the minister told reporters this afternoon.
This is a woman’s worst nightmare. And I say that because while no woman should have to take measures when they’re going out and about to stay safe. Ashling was out during the day, it was bright, there was a lot of people about and she was in an area that local people felt was always safe.
“So everything will be done to ensure that the gardai have the support that they need to bring about justice and that whoever is responsible for this will face the full rigours of the law.
The killing has prompted further discussion about the need to improve the safety of women within Irish society.
A fact that was made all the more real following Ashling’s death on the stretch of canal called ‘Fiona’s Way’ – named after Fiona Pender, a 25-year-old local woman who went missing while pregnant in August 1996.
Singer-songwriter Imelda May referenced this cruel coincidence.
Ashling Murphy a 22 year old teacher brutally murdered by a stranger
— Imelda May (@ImeldaOfficial) January 13, 2022
as she ran along a route called
Fionas Way in Tullamore
named after heavily pregnant
Fiona Pender a 25 year old who disappeared in local area 1996.
When will women be safe?????#ashlingmurphy
Women’s Aid, which works to prevent and address the impact of domestic violence and abuse, has called for zero tolerance of all forms of male violence against women.
“The killing of women is the extreme end of a spectrum of violence and abuse that women in Ireland and across the world experience every day,” CEO Sarah Benson said today.
Women are not afraid of the dark or a lonely space. They are afraid of a violent male perpetrator in the dark. Not all men are violent, and I don’t think anyone is claiming that. However, the majority of violence against women, and indeed men, is perpetrated by men. That’s something as a whole society, including men, we need to tackle.
Many people have been attempting to capture their pain, anger and sorry following Ashling’s killing:
Mental health advocate Blezzing Dada wrote:
Ashling Murphy is her name. Her life mattered. So much ahead. To be remembered as a face, a cherished person. Not just a statistic. To lose your life, randomly, just jogging coincidentally in the area known as Fiona’s Way, in memory of another missing woman. What is going on?Desensitisation to violence against women needs to not become a common theme. By refusing to accept that violence against women is not just a problem but an epidemic — you are complicit. It is also never the time to justify any form of racism from the ill intentioned individuals.
Many others have also focused on the need for men to acknowledge their primary role in making life safer for women.
Men need to listen to women.
— James Kearney (@JamesMFKearney) January 13, 2022
Men need to stop commenting on women's appearances.
Men need to stop making sexist jokes.
Men need to stop cat-calling.
Men need to stop attacking women.
Men need to stop killing women.
Ashling Murphy was going for a run, she did nothing wrong.
To the lads who somehow take umbrage over tweets about #tullamore . We need to realise the privilege we have. I've lived in 3 major cities since I was 17. I've walked home drunk in the dead of night countless times. Never once been attacked. Never once felt afraid. (1/5)
— Kevin McGahern (@kevinmcgahern) January 13, 2022
Ashling was a talented musician and several people have been sharing clips of the young woman playing the violin.
Ceol binn Ashling Murphy. Beannacht léi. pic.twitter.com/sROpi4NT82
— Dr Aoife Granville (@aoifegranville) January 13, 2022
Irish traditional music organisation Comhaltas has this afternoon paid tribute to Ashling, who was a member of the National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, and played fiddle and concertina:
The brutal manner of her death – in the middle of the day – as she jogged by the banks of the peaceful canal in Tullamore has left us numbed and bewildered. The suffering of her family at the loss of such a young and beautiful person is beyond understanding. We share their grief with them and we will always remember Ashling as one who enriched our lives with her warm personality; uplifting musicmaking; compassionate, outgoing and generous friendship.Ashling, you will always be in our thoughts and prayers as we cherish the memories and friendship of your short but exceptional life.
“Ar dheis Dé go raibh do anam uasal ceolmhar. From all your musical colleagues and friends in Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.”
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One upon a time. The Coronavirus. The end.
I knew it. The Journal.ie and RTE are all the one.
@Manbackonboard: …ahhhh stapppp…. We live in a very independent and accountable society….. How’s me story tell’in so far….
@Manbackonboard: television and the internet gives us a window on the world, so why is the journal associating with the Free speech deniers in rte
Once upon a time, a man asked a woman to marry him. She said no and he lived happily ever after.
The end.
@John Fairclough: I think you’ll find she forever more had a clean peaceful house, with no football on the TV, no dirty socks on the floor and lived even more happily ever after than he did.
It all started on one of those dark dismal days, clouds hung over the sleepy village ,threatening their menace at any minute.. Patrick walked through the deserted main street, up past the old ruins beside Mcgintys pub…”should I go in” he asks himself…the cold wind picking up and whipping the turf smoke from the pub up through the town..”maybe I will, later” …”after I come back down from voting Sinn Fein and pissing off FG and FF ….and RTE…feck them all anyway, they are the best story tellers I’ve ever come across….
My girlfriends 4 foot 9.
@Luke Lee: very tall for a 12 year old
Once upon a time . The End . Sign me up
@Ríain HenC: You forgot the middle bit.
@Rachel O’ Meara: Damn writers block !
@Ríain HenC: Don’t worry, I hear that happens alot. :)
@Rachel O’ Meara: Phew ! That’s a relief , thought it was just me ;)
This brings me back to a six word story or flash fiction which allowed for a story , the best example of which was “For sale; baby shoes ,never worn”. It is the concept of telling a story in a minimal amount of words.
Stately plump Buck Mulligan blahdy blahdy blah yes I said yes I will yes.
My father always told us this story he had to write for school when he was young. It was titled “A day in the bog”. He started “The day was wet and we didn’t go”. Always made me laugh.
It’s raining again, the end.
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