Ashling Murphy, the 23-year-old woman who was murdered in Co Offaly in 2022, will again be remembered thousands of miles away in New York City this Sunday, January 21.
The third annual charity walk / run in memory of Ashling Murphy will begin at the Boat House in Central Park at noon on Sunday before looping through the iconic New York City park.
The first Ashling Murphy Charity Walk / Run was held on January 23, 2022, less than two weeks after the shocking murder of the Irish school teacher.
The inaugural event, organized by Irish women Amy Brett, Sarah Cosgrave, and Niamh Reilly, drew hundreds of attendees and raised an astounding $33,000 for Women's Aid Ireland.
Now in its third year, this year's event will benefit the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund, which was launched in November 2022.
Based in Ireland, the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund aims to provide support for causes that were close to Ashling's heart, including initiatives to establish arts and cultural activities in Ashling's name in addition to musical and educational scholarships. The fund also supports initiatives promoting the Irish language and traditional Irish music.
Registration for Sunday's walk is now open online here, and organizers suggest a $20 donation to the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund, which can be made online via iDonate here.
The Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund has endorsed Sunday's event, posting on social media: "Thank you to the organisers of this memorial event for their continued support in memory of Ashling for the third year running."
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The murder of Ashling Murphy
Ashling Murphy, 23, was murdered while she was out for a jog along the canal in Tullamore, Co Offaly at around 4 pm on January 12, 2022.
The shocking incident sent shockwaves not only through Ireland but also through the global Irish community.
Jozef Puska, with an address listed as Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, was arrested on January 18, 2022, and was charged on the following day, the day of Ashling's funeral in Co Offaly.
Puska was accused of stabbing Ashling 11 times in the neck as she jogged along a stretch of the Grand Canal near Tullamore in Co Offaly in broad daylight. He pleaded not guilty and claimed he had been trying to help the schoolteacher after she had been stabbed by another man.
After a jury found him guilty on November 9, 2023, Puska received a life sentence on November 17, 2023.
In December 2023, five people known to Puska were told they will face trial for obstruction charges relating to the investigation into the 2022 murder.
Days before his daughter's second anniversary, Ashling’s father Raymond Murphy told The Times: “What she did in her short 23 years — had she lived, what would she have done in another 23 years?”
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