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15th Jan 2022

Musicians pay moving tribute to Ashling Murphy on Late Late show

Katy Brennan

Ashling was remembered on the Late Late with a traditional Irish music session.

Friday night’s Late Late Show opened with a touching tribute to Ashling Murphy.

The entire country grieved this week after the 23-year-old primary school teacher was attacked and killed in broad daylight while out for a jog in Offaly.

She was a talented musician and fiddle player and was remembered on the Late Late with a traditional Irish music session.

An empty chair was left in the circle of musicians, with a fiddle resting on it, in her honour.

https://twitter.com/RTELateLateShow/status/1482114498819502081

Host Ryan Tubridy offered his condolences to her family and friends and her pupils and colleagues at Durrow National School.

“The traditional music community are a close-knit family and they, like all of us up and down the country, are very shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by the senseless events in Tullamore this week,” he said.

During the musicians’ session, he told them: “You get the sense that music like this, musicians like you come together at a time like this and make sense of the senseless.

“The whole country seems to be mourning tonight. Something happened, something changed in the makeup of the island.”

Taoiseach Michael Martin also appeared on the show and said that Ashling’s murder had provoked a “powerful act of solidarity” by the Irish people.

“For me, I just visualise the classroom where those pupils are,” he said.

“You could see the smiles on the faces of the kids when she’d go into that classroom, the affirmation she would bring to them and all that’s been taken away.

“And I think people are reflecting on all of that and saying enough is enough and this cannot happen and should not happen again.”

He said that the government will act to combat violence against women and that work was already underway on a “major strategy”.

“I think men want to be part of the solution,” he added.

“I think the vast, vast, vast majority of men are repulsed by this. I think men need to listen more to women. We need to listen more to what women are saying to us.”

On Friday, it was reported that a “person of interest” has been identified by Gardaí investigating the murder of Ashling Murphy.

According to RTÉ, the authorities are waiting to speak with a man who is currently in hospital.

The Irish Times, meanwhile, reported on Saturday that the man is being treated for a number of injuries.

A Garda spokesperson said on Friday that while “significant progress” has been made in the investigation to date, An Garda Síochána is not confirming any specific details for operational reasons.

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