Ashling Murphy’s father has thanked the public for their support, saying a memorial fund aims to “keep her memory alive”.
The 23-year-old teacher was murdered on the bank of the Grand Canal, close to Tullamore in Co Offaly, in January 2022.
Her family have set up the Ashling Murphy Memorial Fund to raise money for causes she believed in.
Launching a Gaeltacht scholarship and distributing funds in Tullamore on Saturday, Ray Murphy said: “We’re doing this to keep Ashling’s memory alive and her legacy alive.
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“The people have been giving us substantial amounts of money for Ashling’s memorial fund and the generosity of people is overwhelming,” he said.
“This is the first of many memorial days we’re going to have here.”
The Gaeltacht scholarship funds the attendance of second-level students at Coláiste Chamuis, Co Galway. Mr Murphy said his late daughter, a primary school teacher and graduate of Mary Immaculate College, was a fluent Irish speaker who had a close affinity with two Gaeltacht areas. Ashling was also a fiddle player and traditional music enthusiast.
“She went to Coláiste Chamuis herself when she was a child and then to the Dingle peninsula when she was in Mary Immaculate College, where she got to play music with the late Séamus Begley.”
Mr Begley, a renowned accordion player from Kerry, performed at a memorial concert for Ms Murphy before his death in January 2023.
James Hogan, principal of Durrow National School, Co Offaly, where Ashling worked, said she loved the Irish language.
“The seanfhocail she used in school every day was ‘Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh síad’ [Praise the youth and they will flourish],” he said.
The first two recipients of the Coláiste Chamuis scholarships were Gavin Connolly, of Tullamore, and Ciara Cronin, of Balla, Co Mayo.
They had entered a competition at this year’s National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, where applicants were required to record a video of themselves speaking Irish.
Mr Hogan said eight further scholarships will be awarded.
Connolly (17), a student at Tullamore College, said he was delighted to win the scholarship.
“I have a lot of interest in Irish and Irish culture, and I know Coláiste Chamuis is an extremely good college and one of the most renowned in the country and I think the Ashling memorial fund is a very good cause. It unites the whole community after the horrible tragedy that happened and really brought the whole country together,” he said.
Ciara Cronin (15), a transition year student at Balla Secondary School, said she was excited about going to the Gaeltacht for the first time next summer. “Ashling was such a beautiful person and similar to me – I love Irish and I love speaking Irish.”
Ms Murphy was stabbed to death at Cappincur, Tullamore on the afternoon of January 12th, 2022, while exercising along the canal bank.
Jozef Puska is serving a life sentence for her murder.
