People Before Profit candidate Síomha Ní Aonghusa has made her social media accounts private following backlash to a viral video in which she criticised and ridiculed Ryan Casey, the boyfriend of murdered schoolteacher Ashling Murphy.
Casey, 28, who was in a relationship with Murphy at the time of her death, recently posted a series of messages outlining a visit to Washington DC, where he met with US officials to discuss concerns about Ireland’s direction.
In those posts, he said he had emphasised “the importance that the next 5-10 years will be in maintaining and preserving Ireland’s historical homogenous society,” describing it as “a defining part of who we are,” while also raising concerns about societal change and national identity in the context of mass immigration.
In response, Ní Aonghusa posted a video on TikTok this week in which she rejected Casey’s remarks and criticised him directly, with remarks that many social media users described as “disgraceful”.
In the widely-circulated and reposted clip, she said “no, no thank you to the homogenous society,” before going on to make a number of comments about Casey’s appearance, describing him as “a cautionary tale of what happens when you have a fairly narrow gene pool.”
Notably, she was responding to a photograph of Casey which depicted him leaving a full day of court during the trial of his girlfriend’s murder.
She continued by dismissing his concerns about immigration and social change, stating that “this fearmongering about changing composition of our society, it’s not based on any real material concerns. It’s based on racism.”
She also accused Casey of being a “fascist” with “Nazi views”.
Following criticism, Ní Aonghusa posted a second video in which she acknowledged objections to her remarks about Casey’s appearance, but doubled down on her attacks.
“I do have a certain sympathy for the argument that I shouldn’t be bringing somebody’s looks into it,” she said.
“And I do understand that and I do agree, but then I look at him again and I think, no, sorry, sorry, sorry, you can’t be going around with a head like that talking about reducing the gene pool and reducing the diversity.”
She went on to say that “you need to be so hot if you’re going around talking about reducing the gene pool in Ireland,” while reiterating her opposition to his views.
The videos accumulated hundreds of thousands of views across various social media platforms and prompted a large volume of responses online.
One commenter wrote: “I can’t believe she proudly put her face to this video let alone post it. WOW.”
Another said: “She has absolutely no empathy for this man or the loved one he lost.”
A further response described the remarks as “a disgusting thing to say.”
Gript contacted both Ní Aonghusa and People Before Profit for comment but received no reply.
Murphy, a 23-year-old primary school teacher, was murdered in January 2022 while walking along the Grand Canal near Tullamore, County Offaly. The attack was described in court as random and unprovoked, with evidence indicating she was approached from behind.
Her family outlined the impact of her death in victim impact statements delivered during sentencing proceedings. Her mother described how “my heart broke when I heard Ashing was murdered,” adding that “there is such a void in our home. I’m barely existing from day to day.”
Her sister told the court that “Ashling’s last 10 minutes on this earth must have felt like the longest 10 minutes of her life,” adding: “You stole her life, took her voice and robbed us of our family of five.”
Casey also addressed the court, describing the long-term impact of her death on his life and future.
“I’ve lost everything; the pain of losing someone so important is indescribable,” he said.
“Every single plan I had for life is gone and cannot be brought back.”
Jozef Puška, a Slovakian national who was on social welfare at the time of his incarceration, was convicted of Murphy’s murder in 2023 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Members of his family were later convicted of offences relating to withholding information and destroying evidence.
Casey has previously been the target of defamation, including a case taken against the BBC following comments made during a current affairs broadcast in 2023. The case related to remarks made by Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland concerning coverage of his victim impact statement.
The proceedings were settled in 2025, with the BBC issuing a statement clarifying that it did not consider Casey to be a criminal or a racist, and acknowledging his tragic personal loss.