Femicide in Ireland: Were 85% of women murdered this year killed by foreign migrants?

• Women’s Aid figures show that more women have been killed in violent circumstances in the Republic of Ireland in 2026 than in all of 2025. Northern Ireland has also recorded more women and girls killed in 2026 than in 2025.
• The claim that “85% of women murdered in Ireland this year were killed by foreign migrants” is not supported by the available evidence.
• There is no official police data on the nationality of murder suspects in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, making the claim impossible to verify using official statistics.
• Based on publicly available reporting, the available evidence points to a substantially lower proportion than the claimed 85%.
• The available evidence instead suggests that the clearest pattern across both jurisdictions is that most women and girls killed in 2026 were allegedly killed by a current or former partner or another family member, regardless of nationality.

On 13 July 2026, a Facebook page, Our Northern Ireland Voice – Official, posted a graphic which claimed “85% of women murdered in Ireland this year killed by foreign migrants”.

Text accompanying the graphic claimed that “eight women have died in violent incidents in Ireland so far in 2026, already surpassing the total recorded during all of 2025. Analysis of publicly identified suspects suggests that six of the seven known individuals are non-Irish nationals, meaning approximately 85% of the publicly identified suspects in these cases are foreign nationals.”

Similar claims had featured in a Gript article from 10 July 2026 with the headline “Only 1 in 7 suspects in 2026 murders is an Irishman.” This claim subsequently circulated around online news sites (such as PJ Media and Visegrád 24).

• How many women have been murdered in Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2025 and 2026?

The facebook page Our Northern Ireland Voice – Official (from now on referred to as “Our NI Voice”) post does not specify whether it refers to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, or the island as a whole. Because the accompanying article concerned the Republic, we examine both jurisdictions.

Women’s Aid Femicide Watch issued a statement on 9 July 2026 stating that eight women had died in violent circumstances in 2026 to date. These figures are for the Republic of Ireland only. 

Women’s Aid further reports that this number is higher than all of 2025, when 7 women were killed.

The Journal reported on 29 May that two further women had been killed in Northern Ireland so far in 2026. The BBC reported that another woman, and her eight year old daughter, were killed in Ballymena on 13 July 2026. The Belfast Telegraph reported that  another woman who was attacked in her home in Bangor died on 18 July 2026. This is a total of 5 women and girls in in NI in 2026 to date.

A PSNI Freedom Of Information response states that 4 women and girls were killed in 2025, compared to 5 in the year to date in 2026.

In both ROI and NI, the number of women and girls killed is greater in 2026 to date than in 2025.

Before assessing this claim, it’s worth noting that Our NI Voice uses “foreign migrants,” “non-Irish nationals” and “foreign nationals” interchangeably throughout the post. These are not the same category – a “non-Irish national” could be a long-term resident, a dual citizen, or born in Ireland to non-Irish parents, while “migrant” implies a specific and more recent mode of arrival. For the purposes of this factcheck we treat the claim as being about suspects’ nationality, since that is the only category for which any public information exists.

• Can the nationality claim be verified?

For the purposes of this fact check, we assess the claim using nationality, as this is the only characteristic for which any public information is available.

There is a more fundamental issue.

Neither An Garda Síochána nor the PSNI records or publishes the nationality of murder suspects. As a result, there is no official dataset capable of supporting or disproving the claim.

The only publicly available evidence comes from court reporting, police statements and information released during criminal proceedings. That evidence allows us to examine individual cases, but it does not provide an official statistical basis for claiming that 85% of women killed this year were murdered by “foreign migrants.”

The table below summarises the publicly available information for each case.

Case table

Most of the cases above remain before the courts. Those accused should be regarded as suspects unless and until they are convicted.

• Does the claim from ‘Our NI Voice’ stack up?

The short answer is no. The claim that “85% of women murdered in Ireland this year were killed by foreign migrants” is not supported by the available evidence.

There are two reasons for this.

First, there is no official dataset capable of supporting the claim.

Neither An Garda Síochána nor the PSNI records or publishes the nationality of murder suspects. Any claim assigning a precise percentage to suspects’ nationality is therefore not based on official statistics.

Instead, those making the claim rely on piecing together information from media reporting of individual cases. Any precise percentage therefore depends on how individual cases are selected and classified from media reports, rather than on official crime statistics.

Second, even using publicly available information, the numbers do not support the claim.

Looking first at the Republic of Ireland, eight women had been killed in violent circumstances during 2026 at the time the claim was made.

Of those eight cases:

• one had no publicly identified suspect;
• one involved two juvenile female suspects whose identities are legally protected;
• one involved a suspect reported as Irish;
• one involved a man wanted by Gardaí but not charged in Ireland;
• four involved suspects publicly reported as non-Irish nationals.

Even if all four confirmed non-Irish national suspects are included, this represents four of the eight cases (50%) – well below the claimed 85%.

The position is even clearer when Northern Ireland is included.

When Our Northern Ireland Voice published its post, two women had been killed in Northern Ireland during 2026. Both suspects were reported as UK or Irish nationals.

Three further women and girls were killed later in July. Public reporting indicates one suspected perpetrator was Polish, while another investigation remains ongoing and no nationality has been publicly established.

Across both jurisdictions, thirteen women and girls had been killed by the time of writing.

Using publicly available information:

• six of the thirteen cases involve suspects reported to be non-Irish or non-UK nationals;
• this would rise to seven only if the man sought in connection with the death of Jamey Carney is eventually charged and the publicly reported information about his nationality is confirmed

That equates to 46%, or 54% under the broadest possible interpretation – both substantially below the claimed 85%.

It should also be remembered that these figures are drawn from a very small number of cases and should not be interpreted as evidence of any wider trend. They are presented solely to assess the original claim using the same publicly available information relied upon by those making it.

• What the available evidence shows

While much of the public discussion has focused on suspects’ nationality, the available evidence suggests that relationship to the victim is the more consistent pattern across the cases examined.

Across both jurisdictions, at least nine of the 13 women and girls killed in 2026 (69%) were allegedly killed by a current or former partner or another family member. This includes five of the eight cases in the Republic of Ireland and four of the five cases in Northern Ireland. The remaining cases are undetermined because investigations are ongoing, no suspect has been publicly identified, or reporting restrictions apply.

This pattern is evident regardless of the nationality of the suspect. In cases where a suspect has been publicly identified as a non-Irish or non-UK national, the victim was typically from the same household or family. The same is true of cases involving Irish or UK suspects.

This pattern fits with the wider literature. Women’s Aid said in 2026 that their Femicide Watch shows that “87% of women in ROI (where the case has been resolved) were killed by a man known to them.” A Women’s Aid most recent Femicide Report (2025) found that 55% of these are by a current or former intimate partner. 

Ending violence against women and girls has been named a strategic priority by the NI Executive, who said on 22 April 2026 that this “is one of the most serious challenges facing our society”. In ROI, the Government’s “Zero Tolerance” Strategy sets out an explicit goal of zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Irish society, structured around prevention, protection, prosecution and coordinated policy responses.

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, Women’s Aid operates a 24-hour Domestic Violence Helpline in Northern Ireland, managed by Nexus NI,  on 0808 802 1414, and the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline in the Republic of Ireland is available on 1800 341 900.