Commemorative walk this Sunday to mark Ashling Murphy's third anniversary

A commemorative walk will take place in Tullamore this Sunday, January 12, to mark the third anniversary of the death of Offaly schoolteacher Ashling Murphy.

Ashling was a 23-year-old primary school teacher in Durrow NS when she was murdered while exercising along the Grand Canal in Tullamore, in an incident which shocked and appalled the nation, on January 12, 2022.

In a social media post, the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund invited people to "join us in remembering and celebrating Ashling's life at her 3rd anniversary mass which will take place on Sunday, January 12, at 10am in St Brigid's Church, Mountbolus."

It added that a commemorative walk is to be held on Sunday afternoon, to Ashling's memorial shrine on the Grand Canal.

Participants are being asked to meet at Digby Bridge car park, Capincurr, at 3pm.

Anyone walking along the canal from the Tullamore side may meet at the memorial shrine at 3.15pm.

"Please join us as we remember our beloved Ashling on her 3rd anniversary," said the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund.

The Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund was launched just over two years ago, on January 6, 2023. Its aim is to support "the development of the traditional Irish Arts, culture and heritage for young people by providing an environment to continue and enhance the culture in which Ashling grew up and was very much part of."

Further information about the memorial fund's objectives are available on its iDonate page here.

In November 2023, a jury unanimously convicted Jozef Puška of Ashling Murphy's murder, and he was sentenced to to mandatory life imprisonment.