The Shona Project are delighted to welcome Emma Murphy to our team. Emma was catapulted into the spotlight in 2015 when she shared a video on Facebook speaking out about domestic violence. The video has been watched 7 million times on Facebook and 900 thousand times on Youtube.

Emma has put the incident behind her, but wants to move on on a positive way, using the platform she has unexpectedly been given to create change. Earlier this summer, she made a documentary for RTE about the issue and she continues to speak out against not only domestic violence but also the victim blaming which often occurs.

Emma is proof that negative situations don’t define us. Rather how we react to it defines us. We can find strength in overcoming pain, speaking out and helping others.

Tell us about yourself Emma….

Hi, my name is Emma Murphy, I’m 29 years old from Dublin Ireland. I’m a survivor of Domestic Violence. I used fitness to help me through my recovery, I fell in love with the positive effects it was having on my mental health, so much so that I went to college to become a personal trainer and fitness instructor. 

I use the positive effects it has on me to empower and inspire the younger generation to take control of their mind, body, and soul. As a public speaker and Domestic Violence advocate, I use my voice to empower others. To create change, change in our cultures around love and respect for ourselves and others. 

What made you decide that you’d like to work with The Shona Project?

The Shona project is everything that I am about, creating awareness and creating change in Ireland, helping the younger generation to speak out and share their story through using their voice. 

My mission is to be part of the change in Ireland, I want to inspire as many people as I can and working alongside the Shona Project I believe we can do that. 

What do you want the girls of Ireland to know?

I want the girls of Ireland to know that they have a voice, and no matter how they feel, they should know they have a voice and their voice is very important. I want them to know that there is no such thing as perfect. We are all one we are all equal. 

Whats the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given or the hardest lesson you’ve ever had to learn.

The hardest lesson I have learned was that without loving myself I would never be happy. For so long I hated myself, I hated the person I was, for a number of reasons. One of those reasons was because I was in a very unhappy relationship and it affected me and my mental health. I would cry every day, isolate myself and lock myself away so I didn’t have to deal with the world. After spending a lot of time on my own I realized that I am the only one who can my myself truly happy, and that was by working on myself, taking time out to work on me, my mental health and putting myself first. I began to get comfortable with who I am. I stopped comparing myself to others, I learned to embraces change and just became more relaxed with myself. 

I now live a life where I like what I see when I look in the mirror, I have complete clarity in my own mind and that is something money cannot buy. Peace of mind. Inner happiness. 

Finally, what’s your go to song when you want to feel strong..

Keep an eye out for Emma, who will be contributing to our work in the near future.