Hundreds attend march in Mountrath seeking justice for Joe Drennan
The Drennan family lead the crowd at the Justice for Joe Drennan Community Walk in Mountrath on Sunday Photo: Alf Harvey
MORE THAN 1,000 people took part in a peaceful demonstration in Mountrath on Sunday in support of the late Joe Drennan’s family’s call for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review the sentence imposed on the man who killed him.
Joe was a fourth-year University of Limerick journalism student and editor of the student newspaper, , when he was stuck by a car that failed to stop while waiting at a bus stop in Limerick in October 2023.
The driver of the car, Kieran Fogarty from Limerick city, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for dangerous driving causing the death of Joe, and for failing to offer any assistance while Joe lay dying under the accused’s car. The sentence is to run concurrently with an eight-year sentence he also received at the same court hearing for a separate offence of discharging a firearm in a drive-by shooting. Both crimes were committed while Fogarty was on bail and banned from driving.
The sentence sparked widespread outrage, with Joe’s father Tim saying Fogarty had left his son to “die like a dog on the street” and the Drennan family from Camross were left devastated with the sentence that was handed down to Joe’s killer. They have since initiated a campaign to urge the DPP to appeal the sentence as the family feel it means Fogarty will serve no additional time for killing Joe.
The family has started an online petition seeking to amend sentencing laws to ensure that sentences for serious crimes, specifically those involving loss of life, are served consecutively rather than concurrently. To date, the ‘Help us get justice for Joe – reform consecutive sentencing laws in Ireland’ on change.org has amassed over 15,000 signatures.
Speaking at the march on Sunday, Joe’s sister Sarah said: “We will fight for change for Joe. For every victim and for a justice system that truly delivers justice. Joe deserved so much more. He deserved a full life. While we can’t bring him back, we can honour him by making sure that no other family suffers the same injustice.” A friend of Joe’s for the past 17 years, Maeve Breslin also spoke at the ‘Walk for justice’ in Mountrath.
She said: “This sentence has to be reconsidered. It is an insult to Joe, his memory, his friends and family who are grieving his loss. We'll keep fighting until justice is served.”
