Influencer Charleen Murphy recalls seconds before violent attack which left her hospitalised
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.
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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.
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