I was wondering whether to even post this because it’s such a f*cked up side story in an already horrific saga, but it really does make a point about women not being safe in Ireland – even at their own damn vigils.

According to the Independent, a man appeared to masturbate at an online vigil held for murdered 23-year-old primary teacher Ashling Murphy, who was attacked and killed as she jogged along the Grand Canal outside Tullamore, County Offaly, last week.

Evie Nevin, one of the organisers of the event, told how the man ‘interrupted’ proceedings by beginning to masturbate, leaving other attendees “shocked” and “disgusted”.

Ms Nevin and other activists are calling for the Garda (Irish police) to investigate the incident and for politicians to make cyber flashing a criminal offence. Let’s hope this freak is tracked down because anyone that is debauched enough to pull a stunt like that really needs to be on some kind of list, at the very least.

There is promising news on the hunt for Ashling’s killer; the Garda have centred their investigation around a man being treated for a variety of wounds, which he can’t explain, in a Dublin hospital. His DNA is being cross-checked against a DNA profile taken from the crime scene and forensic evidence on a mountain bike found there and believed to have been used by the killer.

Naturally they are keeping details quiet for now, but they did release this statement earlier:

That description seems to match the image going around of a man on a bike who was seen in the area:

So I guess they are gathering as much evidence as they can as quickly as possible so that when this guy in the hospital is released into their custody they’ll have enough to work with. Obviously if you were in the area and happen to know anything, no matter how insignificant it might seem, get in touch with the police. It’s often the small piece that finishes the puzzle.