Jennifer Poole was just 24 when she was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend. She was a care worker and a mother of two when she decided to end their relationship. It was then that she was attacked and murdered by Gavin Murphy in her home in April 2021.
Jennifer’s family are now campaigning in her memory to introduce a domestic violence register in Ireland. ‘Jenny’s Law’ would ensure that anyone in a relationship or close relative to them could avail of information about their partner’s domestic violence history. This would include anyone with a domestic violence conviction or who has served time for domestic violence and all Garda house calls related to domestic violence.
Her brother, Jason Poole has been campaigning for over two years for the legislation to come into effect. He hopes ‘Jenny’s Law’ can stop future victims from being killed or injured like his sister by providing them with the necessary information. Justice Minister, Jim O’Callaghan has said he ‘‘remains committed’’ to creating a domestic violence register. However, progress has been slow in developing ‘Jenny’s Law’ into legislation. Jason Poole told the Sunday World in January that ‘‘it has gone to stage two in the Seanad’’.
During the murder trial, it emerged that Reilly had a history of domestic violence which he had hidden from Jennifer. He had previously served time in prison with thirteen convictions for assaulting another former partner and her mother. The proposed legislation would mean that this information would have been made available to Jennifer while she was in a relationship with Murphy.
Women’s Aid reports that as of February 2025, 274 women have died violently in the Republic of Ireland since 1996. Of those 274 women, Women’s Aid states that 63 per cent were killed in their own homes and almost 9 in 10 of them knew their killer. While 55 per cent of those women were murdered by a partner or an ex-partner. These figures come from Women’s Aid Femicide Watch 1996 – 2025 which honours the Irish women who have lost their lives to femicide. They also found that women under the age of 35 make up 50 per cent of cases in Ireland. Women’s Aid aims to highlight how women of any age can be a victim of femicide.
In the UK there is legislation in place called ‘Clare’s Law’ which allows victims and their families to check an abuser’s past domestic violence history. ‘Clare’s Law’ is formally known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) in the UK. It is a police-run scheme which lets the public make a DVDS application if they believe you are personally at risk of abuse or are concerned on behalf of someone. It is a part of the Domestic Abuse Act which became law in 2021.