David Raleigh
The mother of student journalist Joe Drennan, who was killed in a hit-and-run two years ago, said her family were told on Wednesday morning that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had lodged an appeal against the six-and-a-half-year concurrent sentence imposed on her son’s killer, on the grounds it was too lenient.
At his sentencing hearing on January 30th, Kieran Fogarty (21), of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, was jailed for eight years for shooting at a house in April 2023. The sentencing judge, Colin Daly, initially told the hearing that he was sentencing Fogarty to an additional six-and-a-half years for the fatal hit-and-run.
However, Judge Daly corrected himself during the hearing and said the hit-and-run sentence would run concurrently to the eight-year sentence, meaning Fogarty would not serve any jail time for killing Joe Drennan.
Mr Drennan’s family said they were “disgusted” by the sentence, and called on the DPP to appeal against it. They argued the sentence should run consecutively to the other sentence.
Confirming the DPP had appealed the sentence, Joe Drennan’s mother, Marguerite Drennan, said: “Yes, it’s great news, thank God.”
“My son, Richard, contacted us, so it is brilliant ... it’s absolutely unreal, thank God for it,” Ms Drennan said.
Ms Drennan said that regardless of the outcome of the DPP’s appeal, her family would press ahead with an online petition calling on the Government and Minister for Justice “to amend the current sentencing laws to ensure that multiple sentences for serious crimes, particularly those involving loss of life, are served consecutively rather than concurrently”.
The petition has received more than 11,500 signatures since it began on February 6th.
“I hope it [the appeal] will give us more of a sense of closure, please God, we just need justice for Joe, and then we have to go ahead with the petition to change the concurrent sentencing laws, so that has to go ahead as well,” Ms Drennan added.
Becoming emotional Marguerite Drennan said: “It won’t bring Joe back, but it will help other families.”
The DPP has been contacted for comment.
Kieran Fogarty, who was not known to Joe Drennan, was speeding and filming himself on a mobile phone while he drove a BMW 5 Series in the moments leading up to the fatal hit and run.
At the time, Fogarty was on bail, subject to several arrest warrants, and banned from driving by the courts.
Fogarty broke a red light, collided with another car injuring the driver, before ploughing into a bus stop where Joe Drennan was innocently waiting for a bus on October 13th, 2023.
Joe Drennan (21), from Mountrath, Co Laois, was a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Limerick, where he was editor-in-chief of the university’s news platform Limerick Voice.
He had finished a work shift at a restaurant and was waiting for his bus home when he was struck and killed by Fogarty.
At the sentencing hearing, Fogarty received further concurrent sentences for engaging in violent disorder and possessing drugs for sale or supply.
Fogarty also pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man in April 2023 and this offence was taken into consideration by Judge Daly.
The terms of the fatal hit-and-run sentence sparked public outcry, a vigil was held at the University of Limerick, and a protest march took place in Limerick city centre last weekend.
The Drennan family held a protest outside the Dáil on Tuesday, continuing their campaign #JusticeForJoe.
Meanwhile, a Garda investigation is continuing into the circumstances behind a “threatening” letter sent to Judge Daly following Kieran Fogarty’s sentencing hearing.
The handwritten correspondence was intercepted by court services staff at the Limerick Circuit Criminal Court complex last Friday.
Sources said that while it is “not uncommon” for members of the judiciary to receive letters in respect of court cases, the nature of the letter in question raised enough alarm for Gardaí to be contacted.
A Garda Press Office spokeswoman said: “An Garda Síochána is aware of correspondence received at a premises in Limerick city in February 2025. Enquiries are ongoing.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Marguerite Drennan said she and her family did not condone such behaviour: “That wasn’t us now. Oh God, no I wouldn’t condone that, no way.”
