Remembering Ashling: Tullamore seeks to lead on gender-based violence measures

Though still popular with locals, the Grand Canal path near Boland’s Lock and Digby Bridge in Tullamore is a quieter place now since Ashling Murphy’s killing in January, a trauma that still affects the Midlands town.

Minister of Tullamore and Mountmellick’s Presbyterian churches, Rev William Hayes, agrees: “It’s still very much an undertone in the community. Occasionally you see guards walking up and down there. While it’s very nice to have their presence, it’s a reminder.”

In recent months, however, the local community, led by the Rotary branch, has come together with the hope of becoming the first town in Ireland to roll out new measures to crack down on gender-based and domestic violence.

Tullamore and District Rotary Club sought views from 51 local groups, representing almost 8,500 local people, on how Ireland could be made a safer place for women, as part of its submission to the Government’s strategy.

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More than two-thirds believe existing legislation is not strong enough, while respondents also demanded that men do more to call out inappropriate behaviour among their peers, a greater understanding of consent and more information for victims.

In its submission to the national strategy, the Rotary club says “dozens of groups in the town” have agreed to help and it has proposed that Tullamore be made a pilot town for key initiatives agreed within the strategy.

“Tullamore has always been a pleasant town to walk around. Given its location, there are a lot of natural amenities like the canal and it has really become a town that attracts people as a great place to live,” Ronan Berry, author of the submission, says.

The survey offered the opportunity to gauge the level of gender violence occurring locally, and in Offaly, as a whole. Too much, says Anne Clarke, chief executive of Offaly Domestic Violence Support Services (ODVSS), adding that calls for help have increased hugely over the past three years.

In 2019, the ODVSS had 869 approaches for help. By 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the number had doubled to 1,720. Last year, they increased again to 2,719. “Last week alone, we saw 14 new clients. One day, six new people.”

Some of the callers are hiding in their bathrooms when they make the call, or ring when they are out shopping because they are fearful for their safety, she says, adding that help should be available everywhere and not dependent upon “a postcode lottery about where you live”.

Nationally, the courts must be consistent about gender violence, she says: “One judge could take a very serious action to an offence in court, while another judge could give a suspended sentence for the same crime.

“We need a designated family court with training for judges and solicitors in areas like coercive control and the complexities of domestic violence. We need support for victims going to court for sex-based crimes or crimes like coercive control,” she says.

Recently, county councillors and volunteers conducted surveys in Tullamore, Edenderry and Birr, asking how streets and public districts could be made safer for anyone at risk.

The survey was part of Offaly Safe Day – an initiative loosely based on the UN-Habitat women’s safety audit and Dublin City Council’s safe city programme – and an online survey will remain live until July 8th.

“What struck me today was the willingness of people to participate,” says Cllr Neil Feighery, adding that people have raised concerns about lighting, CCTV and the visibility of gardaí on streets.

Illustrating the pervasive nature of the problem, former principal of Durrow National School, Frank Kelly, recounts the “non-court-worthy” experience of a young girl who had gone to collect a pizza ordered by her parents.

“She’s walked from the car to get the pizza and in that short time, two boys have fired a bottle at her and called her a name... That was a huge thing for her, and her parents have said that she won’t come back to Tullamore now,” he says.

Other women gave examples of how they altered their behaviours when walking alone, especially at night – from avoiding eye contact, to walking more quickly, or pretending to be on the phone or constantly looking behind them.

“Some of the women actually thought that young men felt they had a right to say what they like and then laugh at it,” says the former principal, “whereas young men said they felt safe day and night.” Everyone agrees that more gardai should be on the beat.

More young men are becoming aware, says Deirdre Fox, manager of Offaly Volunteer Centre, since some had not realised how their actions were received: “I think that there’s an enlightenment now there in how to approach a group of women if you’re a group of men.”

Cllr Tony McCormack agrees, believing that Tullamore’s own actions in recent months shows the desire both to learn, and to change: “I certainly didn’t realise what women faced on a daily basis, that they faced unwanted looks, inappropriate touching on the Luas or on the train from Dublin to Tullamore, unwanted comments from a group of men. A lot of groups in the town said, ‘We want to do something to try to change everything.’”

Tullamore has been “inspired” by this year’s tragedy along the canal to make a difference, says Molly Buckley, who founded Offaly Domestic Violence Services 25 years ago: “I don’t think that’ll ever fade.”

Rev Hayes thinks everywhere needs to experience a sea change, saying people no longer believe it is acceptable that someone would get into a car and not put on a seatbelt, yet a comment about a woman can be excused.

“People might think it’s funny, or oh, he was drunk. Sometimes we make excuses for behaviour that we as society need to crack down on. We’re not just talking about Tullamore here; we’re talking about all of Ireland.”