AN ENTRANCE SCHOLARSHIP in memory of primary school teacher Ashling Murphy has been launched by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and Mary Immaculate College.

23-year-old school teacher Ashling Murphy was fatally attacked while jogging along a canal near Tullamore in January. 

The scholarship, jointly awarded by Mary Immaculate College and the INTO to the amount of €4,000, will be a bursary awarded to a first year Bachelor of Education student for their exceptional achievement and talent in the field of traditional Irish music.

Applications will open on 30 November. The closing date is 1 September on the year of entry to Mary Immaculate College.

“In launching this scholarship, we will continue to cherish Ashling’s memory and her many accomplishments, her love of music and her skills as an educator,” Professor Eugene Wall, president of Mary Immaculate College, said.

“Ashling exemplified the qualities of what it means to be an excellent primary teacher. She was warm, caring, effervescent, diligent and so lavishly talented,” Professor Wall said.

“We’re uniquely fortunate in this country to attract student teachers of Ashling’s calibre and we are pleased that this scholarship in her memory will benefit those who share Ashling’s passions.”

John Boyle, General Secretary of the INTO, said: “Adored by her pupils, respected by her peers and admired by so many in her native Co Offaly and beyond, we felt it was important to honour Ashling Murphy’s memory in a lasting way.

“On behalf of our members across the country, we hope this scholarship will serve as a lasting tribute to Ashling, her family and all who knew her.”