'I think men are finally getting it’: Cork vigils see huge turnout to remember Ashling Murphy

One man crouched on the ground holding his young daughter in silence.

Through tears, vigil attendee Rebecca McCarthy read a letter she had written to Ms Murphy.

“You are far too young to be taken away from this world. There is no positive we can take from this, maybe a lesson? Girls should be so scared that we can’t even walk in daylight now?

“I cry for you young girl. I cry for the lack of hope in all of this.

“I hope and pray that this monster gets served justice but it will never be enough because you will not be unmurdered.” 

Solidarity TD Mick Barry said that people are feeling strong sympathy for Ms Murphy’s family and friends but they are also feeling anger that  on average 10 women every year are killed or murdered in Ireland.

“This is a moment of sadness, a moment for reaching out in sympathy to the people who have lost their loved one,” he said.

“But let this not only be a moment of tragedy, let it be a moment when the tide turns and we have a sustained movement for real change on these issues in this country and everywhere.” He said that Ireland must embrace a new culture that has zero tolerance for toxic sexism.

“It needs to be taught in our schools, it needs to be made clear to any government that if you have a women’s refuge which is doing brilliant work but is so underfunded that they have to turn people away - we’re not going to tolerate that anymore,” Mr Barry said.

Despite this week’s tragedy, Mary Crilly of Cork’s Sexual Violence Centre sounded a note of optimism.

“I do have huge, enormous hope,” she said.

“Forty years ago when we started the centre this wouldn’t have happened. There wouldn’t have been a gathering.

“Twenty years ago when Rachel Kiely was killed in Ballincollig there was huge sadness but there wasn’t a gathering. 

"I think they're finally getting that when they're walking behind a woman and they're doing no harm, they don't really get that the woman doesn't know that you're not the guy that will hurt them.
"They want their sisters and daughters and grandmothers to feel safe.” 

‘I do have hope, I think that men are finally getting it’: Mary Crilly of ⁦@SVCCork⁩ speaks at a vigil for Ashling Murphy in Cork #AshlingMurphy pic.twitter.com/OFBzUmCAgj

— Liz Dunphy (@LizDunphy1) January 15, 2022

"This is about getting the conversation going and getting men to think differently and do things differently.

"I think that's what they want because they want their sisters. their daughters, their mothers, their grandmothers to go out or stay in or do whatever they do, and feel safe."

Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said that women’s lives are blighted by male violence.

“That is the harsh reality that we as men have to face. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the woman to make sure that she is safe. We need to place the responsibility where it belongs, on men who are inflicting violence on women,” he said.

Vigil organiser and ROSA and Socialist Party member Martina Stafford said that today’s gathering was organised to express solidarity to Ashling Murphy and her loved ones and to stand up against gender violence.

The tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, a young dentist who died from sepsis after she was refused an abortion , sparked such public anger that it helped fuel the successful campaign to repeal Ireland’s abortion law ban.

And this is another such time when women's rights and safety must again be loudly and steadfastly championed, she said.

“We need to stand up and fight for fundamental change again through a sustained movement that changes the system fundamentally and helps women have a freer life where their wellbeing and safety is at the core of it,” Ms Stafford said.

“Young people are demanding action, demanding change. They’re willing to fight and challenge society and the system. That’s why we want to fight this and take this opportunity to build a movement, like the movement that won Repeal [the Eighth Amendment], to win more fundamental change for women.” 

On Wednesday, a protest against gender violence will be held on Grand Parade in Cork, one week from when Ms Murphy was brutally murdered while out jogging in Tullamore.

“Today was a moment of respect and solidarity for Ashling. On Wednesday at 4pm, a week after Ashling died, we’re going to hold a protest on Grand Parade where we can really point that anger forward and demand change,” she said.

An earlier vigil walk was held at the Atlantic Pond at the marina.

Members of the public, young and old gathered in their hundreds near Páirc Uí Chaoimh to pay their respects to the 23-year-old teacher.

"I saw this morning and Pairc Ui Chaoimh the whole sadness and the grief of thousands of people, and I really feel hope" she added. 

"I could say after 40 years I've seen violence against women and violence against men, but mainly women day after day.

"I could say I despair, sometimes I do, but the majority of times working in Cork, the people who hate injustice, oh by God I feel so much hope and inspiration and a privilege to be here with you."

Gardaí in Tullamore are continuing to hunt for Ashling's killer and have said the investigation has made “significant progress” amid reports detectives had identified a person of interest.