Latest news with #CraigO'Brien
Sunday World
22-05-2025
- Sunday World
Influencer Charleen Murphy recalls seconds before violent attack which left her hospitalised
Craig O'Brien was jailed for assaulting the Dubliner after tracking down her location in February 2023 Influencer Charleen Murphy has recalled the seconds before the violent attack which left her hospitalised. It comes ahead of her appearance on an RTÉ Prime Time special delving into toxic masculinity online. Craig O'Brien attacked her in February 2023 as she dined at a Dublin hotel with a friend. 'I just felt this blow to the back of my head, my head basically went so full force forward into my glass that the glass completely shattered,' she told RTÉ's Kate McDonald. Charleen after the attack News in 90 Seconds - May 22nd 'I looked to my left and I could see him standing there. Straight away, I knew who it was… He had been messaging me in the past online.' Charleen said that the experience is part of a pattern of abuse she's received online over the years. 'When I came out with the story that time, people said, 'You're not a real victim.' They downplay your pain or trauma. 'You don't have to have something worse than someone else to still have gone through something bad.' She also said that the internet is shaping young people's views on gender roles. 'People have these words and this information so young. Their brains are being shaped by it all. It's scary. I'm scared for the younger generation. 'People think it's just a comment. But kids are reading that. That's saying to them, 'It's okay for me to post this too.' All the little things turn into the big things.' Taking to social media she shared: 'I will be on RTE One tonight at 9.35 during Prime Time talking about my attack and toxic masculinity online. Craig O'Brien who was convicted of assault causing harm to influencer Charleen Murphy 'An extremely important episode that dives into how online content is shaping teenagers minds and beliefs.' 'Being in the midst of the online world I see it every single day in comments and dm's to the point where I think we all have become numb to the words being used. Charleen said that young boys seeing other men making derogatory comments online 'makes them believe it's ok' and that they can 'speak to women that way.' 'That in turn makes the world even more unsafe for women, as it can have huge knock-on effects as I have seen first hand.' In November 2023, Craig O'Brien of Thomond Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the 'unprovoked and unwarranted attack' after pleading guilty to assault causing harm. The court heard that Murphy went to the Grafton Capital Hotel to meet a friend for dinner and drinks. When she arrived, she shared photographs to social media. She was sat in a booth, facing her friend when she felt a blow to the back of her head. Her head flew forward, and her forehead smashed into a glass on the table. Read more Man (39) dies after getting into difficulty in Cork river An ambulance was called, and Murphy was taken to hospital, requiring stitches to a two-inch laceration on her forehead. Later on in the evening, O'Brien sent her a voice note on social media asking: 'how's the head?' Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that he had ten previous convictions, including two for assault. At sentencing, Judge Orla Crowe said that while he was being interviewed by gardaí, he referred to Ms Murphy in 'utter derogatory terms, a female who had done nothing to him'. O'Brien was released from prison in 2024 after serving 13 months of his sentence.
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Irish Independent
‘I'm scared for the younger generation' – Influencer Charleen Murphy on impact of online abuse and being assaulted in restaurant
The podcaster and social media creator will take part in an RTÉ Prime Time programme tonight focusing on the impact of online influencers that promote a negative form of masculinity. She was attacked in a Dublin restaurant two years ago by a man who had been repeatedly contacting her online. 'I just felt this blow to the back of my head, my head basically went so full force forward into my glass that the glass completely shattered,' she said. 'I looked to my left and I could see him standing there. Straight away, I knew who it was.' In November 2023, Craig O'Brien (28) of Thomond Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, was sentenced to two years and three months for assault causing harm, with the final nine months suspended for 18 months. Murphy said the incident is part of a larger pattern of online abuse that she has encountered over years. 'When I came out with the story that time, people said, 'You're not a real victim.' They downplay your pain or trauma,' she said. 'You don't have to have something worse than someone else to still have gone through something bad.' The programme, which will focus on the impacts of negative masculinity online, will address misogyny and online abuse. Murphy agreed such narratives are shaping young people's views on gender roles, which is 'happening much younger'. 'People have these words and this information so young. Their brains are being shaped by it all. It's scary. I'm scared for the younger generation.' She said online misogyny has a larger impact outside social media. 'People think it's just a comment. But kids are reading that. That's saying to them, 'It's okay for me to post this too.' All the little things turn into the big things.' She told followers on Instagram that the episode is 'extremely important' as it 'dives into how online content is shaping teenagers minds and beliefs'. "Being in the midst of the online world I see it every single day in comments and (direct messages) to the point where I think we have all become numb to the words being used,' she added. "Young boys seeing other men comment derogatory terms makes them believe that is OK and that they can also speak to women that way and that in turn makes the world even more unsafe for women as it can have huge knock-on effects as I have seen first hand.' The full programme will be aired on RTÉ tonight, with Prime Time
