Memorial held to mark first anniversary of death of Ashling Murphy

Family and friends walk to the memorial on the bank of the Grand Canal near Tullamore, Co Offaly, to mark the first anniversary of the day teacher Ashling Murphy was killed.

More than 100 people walked to the memorial on the bank of the Grand Canal near Tullamore a year to the day after Ashling Murphy was killed when she was out for a jog.

Ashling's father Ray this afternoon joined in a brief prayer vigil and musical tribute to his daughter at the site in Co Offaly where she met her death.

Incessant rain earlier in the day cleared as friends and neighbours congregated at the shrine and prayed a decade of the rosary, led by Tom Lawless, undertaker at the 23-year-old schoolteacher's funeral in January last year.

All afternoon, people had been placing bouquets of flowers at the memorial and many of those at the vigil did so too, reflecting in silence before well wishers with musical instruments played a selection of traditional tunes.

Tributes and flowers left at the memorial on the bank of the Grand Canal near Tullamore, Co Offaly, to mark the first anniversary of the day teacher Ashling Murphy was killed.

Ray Murphy joined on the banjo and among the musicians was James Hogan, principal of Durrow National School where Ms Murphy had been working.

Ashling Murphy was an accomplished traditional musician whose instrument of choice was the fiddle and along with being a regular performer and competitor, she gave fiddle lessons and established a trad group for the pupils at her school.

The young woman had completed a day's teaching at the primary school just a few miles from Tullamore on January 12 last year and decided to stop at the canal bank for a run on her way home to her nearby native area of Blue Ball.

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The vigil took place just hours before the first anniversary Mass for Ashling at St Brigid's Church in Mountbolus.

The Murphy family have founded the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund which will invest in the advancement of traditional Irish arts, culture, and heritage.

Ashling's partner Ryan Casey posted a loving tribute on the Memorial Fund's social media page where he addressed his “soulmate” and said: “Time can move at a pace which can be impossible to comprehend but one thing for sure is no matter how fast time may pass, there isn’t a single second that goes by where my heart doesn’t ache for you.” 

A man has been charged with the murder of Ms Murphy and the case is due before the courts in June.