Schools across country rallied to support Ashling Murphy's pupils after teacher's killing

James Hogan, principal of Durrow National School in Co Offaly, has thanked fellow principals for their support since Ashling Murphy, 23, was fatally assaulted in January.

In the wake of the killing of teacher Ashling Murphy, principals from across the country travelled to her primary school to deliver care packages to help support the children she taught in dealing with their loss.

James Hogan, the principal of Durrow National School in Co Offaly, has thanked fellow principals for their support since Ms Murphy, 23, was fatally assaulted in January while out for a run along the canal bank in Tullamore.

Messages of sympathy and support came “flooding in” from schools across the country.

In a letter read to the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) annual conference, Mr Hogan said the “overwhelming” support the school received has been passed on to the Murphy family.

“It does help with the grief we have to face every day," he said. "Always remember life is short. Appreciate what you have and relish the good times more.”

In a letter read aloud by IPPN president Brian Doherty, Mr Hogan extended his “utmost gratitude” on behalf of staff, pupils, and the community to all the school leaders who reached out from across Ireland after they lost their “beloved” Ashling.

“The outpouring of support, letters, emails, phone calls, visits, and gifts sent and personally delivered to our school have been heartwarming and haven’t gone unnoticed," he said.

“We’re overwhelmed with the support we have received, and we are still receiving messages from as far away as Australia and Canada.

When kind, caring people arrive at the door of your school, who travelled with gifts from as far away as Cork, Clare, Donegal, and Derry, in one day, it touches your heart. 

Mr Hogan also spoke about the school's efforts to focus on supporting the wellbeing of pupils and staff following their loss.

“Despite the time pressure and various challenges facing our schools each day, this shows that we have an empathic and supportive network," he said.

"“Each day brings a new beginning but also brings emotional challenges for us as we try to move forward without Ashling’s presence.

“Her absence has created a huge void in our school but your support is a huge comfort.” 

 Mr Hogan is a recently-appointed principal, having begun his leadership role at Durrow National School in September 2021.

Nothing could ever prepare me or anybody else to lead a school community through a critical incident like this. 

“On Wednesday, January 12, we were robbed of a beautiful, talented, gifted teacher," he said.

“Little did I, or anyone else, know that Ashling wouldn't be returning to work the next day.

"The wellbeing of my staff and pupils was, and still is, to the fore. The Covid-19 pandemic changed the lives of so many people, and now we were faced with another pandemic when Ashling was killed. 

“I deeply sympathise with other schools who had their own tragedies in the past too. Unfortunately, it takes something awful like this for us all to stop, think, and appreciate what we have.”

To maintain as normal a school routine as possible, Durrow National School as a community decided to focus on their health and wellbeing, Mr Hogan added.

Pupils from Ashling Murphy's class hold photographs of their teacher at her funeral. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

“To ensure the staff and pupils have a safe, friendly environment to work and learn in, to focus on the teaching, to stop worrying about paperwork and plans, and to ensure that the pupils enjoy coming to school each day. This, I feel, is something we all need to focus more on.

“As [school] leaders we regularly face challenging times but the most important thing to remember is that we're never alone.” 

Mr Hogan encouraged his fellow principals to reach out to their staff as often as possible.

When your staff leave school each evening, we don’t know who might not be returning to work the next day.

IPPN president Brian Doherty said that many people can “only but imagine” how challenging the loss of Ms Murphy had been for Durrow National School.

“We can only but admire the dignified, sensitive, and resilient leadership demonstrated in such unbelievably difficult circumstances.”

Mr Doherty added that the former chief inspector had been moved to say that if Mr Hogan was indicative of the leadership in schools across the country, then our schools are in very good hands.

“I'd like to extend that sentiment to all of those school leaders who have helped their school communities to cope with unimaginable tragedy in the past year," he said.