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 Garda Síochána (Irish police) questioned 31-year-old Slovak Romani father-of-five Jozef Puška, who was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. During his trial at Dublin's Central Criminal Court from 16 October to 9 November 2023, the jury heard evidence that he had attacked Murphy and dragged her off the towpath into an adjacent ditch, where he stabbed her multiple times in the neck. Found guilty by unanimous verdict, Puška was sentenced to life imprisonment on 17 November 2023. His wife, Lucia Ištóková, and two of his brothers, Marek and Ľubomír Puška, were charged with withholding information during the investigation. His sisters-in-law Jozefína Grundzová and Viera Gažiová were charged with impeding the prosecution by destroying evidence. Ištóková pleaded guilty. Following a trial at the Central Criminal Court from 20 May to 17 June 2025, the other four relatives were also found guilty.

To commemorate Murphy, her family established the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund, a registered charity that supports the traditional Irish arts, culture, and heritage for young people. Mary Immaculate College—Murphy's alma mater—and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation jointly established the Ashling Murphy Memorial Entrance Scholarship, awarded annually to a first-year Bachelor of Education student who exhibits exceptional achievement and talent in traditional Irish music. 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.