TEACHER Ashling Murphy was laid to rest on January 18, 2022, after her heartbroken pupils gave her a special guard of honour at her funeral mass.
The 23-year-old, a talented musician, was murdered on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on January 12.
Who was Ashling Murphy?
Ashling, from Tullamore in County Offaly, Ireland, was a primary teacher at Durrow National School.
She was brutally killed while out jogging on a canal walkway.
The 23-year-old put up a brave fight during the frenzied assault by a stranger at the canal bank in Cappincur, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Ashling's funeral was held at St Brigid's Church in the nearby village of Mountbolus, where father Michael Meade told the service that the family had been "robbed of your most precious gift".
He told the mourners: "Kathleen and Ray, Cathal, Amy and her boyfriend, Ryan – you have been robbed of your most precious gift – a gift that gave only joy and love, fun and laughter to many beyond your family.
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"The issues raised in many ways and by many voices since this horrible act of violence invaded all our lives will, we pray, continue to evolve and bring the change we need so much, to simply give and show respect."
Ms Murphy was a former pupil of Sacred Heart School in Tullamore before she started teaching in the nearby school.
The talented musician played the fiddle and the tin whistle and had recently taken up the uilleann pipes.
The Murphy family encouraged mourners to join the musical tribute to the keen fiddle player.
The murdered teacher’s heartbroken sister Amy said: “Our family kindly asks that any musicians attending please bring their instrument and play music at Lowertown cemetery after mass should you wish."
Ashling's grief-stricken partner Ryan Casey has paid an emotional graveside tribute to his girlfriend, calling her "a shining light".
Ryan said: "It’s simply not possible to explain what Ashling meant to myself or her family and friends in these few brief words. What I would like to say at this moment in time is that Ashling was in fact our shining light.
"She was always there, always willing to help anybody, anywhere, at any time and always put herself last.
"She had so many hobbies and talents which all combined to make her an incredible, loving, beautiful person we were all so lucky to know and loved to spend as much time with as possible."
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