OUTRAGED family, friends and colleagues of hit and run victim, Joe Drennan, are demanding “Justice for Joe” as his killer escapes serving even one extra day in jail for mowing him down and leaving him for dead.
It has been announced announced that a public vigil will be held in Limerick today (Thursday) calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to appeal the terms of his killer’s sentence.
Last week, Kieran Fogarty, (21), Hyde Road, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, was jailed for six and half years after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing Mr Drennan’s death, failing to remain at the scene of the fatal collision, failing to assist Mr Drennan and failing to alert the emergency services.
Judge Colin Daly, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court, initially told Fogarty’s sentencing hearing that the six and half year sentence would run “consecutive” to an eight-year sentence also imposed on Fogarty after he admitted discharging a firearm in a drive-by shooting which was an entirely separate offence and which was not linked in any way Mr Drennan’s death.
Judge Daly later clarified In court that he had meant to say that Fogarty’s six and half year sentence would run concurrent to his eight-year sentence.
The family of Mr Drennan, who was a fourth year journalism student at University of Limerick as well as editor-in-chief at the university’s student print and digital news platform Limerick Voice, said they were “disgusted” at the sentencing decision.
In court, Joe Drennan’s father Tim Drennan, asked Judge Daly if the concurrent sentence meant that Fogarty would not serve a day for “killing my son”, however the judge rose to his chambers without response.
Speaking outside the court afterwards, Tim Drennan said Kieran Fogarty had left his son to “die like a dog on the street” and that Judge Daly’s decision means that Fogarty would not serve serve any jail time for taking Joe’s life.
“He (Fogarty) got a free ride for killing Joe, he got eight years for shooting into a wall, and he got six and half years for killing Joe, and he’s not going to be serving anything for Joe because the other one is a longer sentence,” Tim Drennan said.
Marguerite Drennan said she found the sentencing decision “absolutely unbelievable” and “really hard to take”.
The Drennan family have launched a social media campaign under the hashtag, #JusticeForJoe, calling for the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal Fogarty’s concurrent sentence on the grounds that it should be served consecutively to Fogarty’s eight-year sentence.
This Tuesday, Joe Drennan’s colleagues at the Limerick Voice announced it was “inviting the Limerick community to stand with the Limerick Voice in demanding justice for Joe Drennan“ at a vigil, to be attended by Marguerite and Tim Drennan, at the Main Plaza, University of Limerick, at 1.30pm, February 6.
Jack McKay, Limerick Voice managing editor, said the vigil was “to show our solidarity with the Drennan Family and help and raise awareness for their campaign for justice”.
“Joe was a journalist with a keen sense of justice and saw journalism as a conduit in raising awareness and campaigning for justice,” added Mr McKay.
“UL Student Life is deeply saddened and outraged by the sentence imposed on Kieran Fogarty, who killed UL student Joe Drennan in a hit-and-run in October 2023. We stand in solidarity with Joe’s family in our shared frustration and disbelief at the lack of justice for him.
Despite the severity of his actions, Kieran Fogarty received a six-and-a-half-year sentence for dangerous driving causing death and an eight-year sentence for a drive-by shooting in June of the same year, in which no one was killed. These sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve just eight years in total.
Joe was an incredible member of our community, leaving a lasting legacy within our student body. We firmly believe this sentence fails to deliver justice for Joe and his family and reflects a deeply concerning leniency in handling such a violent crime.
UL Student Life President Ronan Cahill said:”As a Students’ Union committed to justice and protecting the interests of our members, this sentence is disgraceful and does nothing to deliver the justice Joe and his family deserve. Joe contributed immensely to our community at UL, and his tragic death has left a lasting impact on his peers. He was a hardworking student who was taken from us while waiting for his bus home, and this sentence is simply not acceptable. I want to assure Joe’s family and friends that we are here to support them in any way possible to fight for the justice he deserves.”
We encourage any students affected by this news to reach out to UL Student Life for guidance on supports that are available to them during this time.”
Fogarty was on bail, disqualified from driving for other driving offences, and subject to five outstanding arrest warrants, when he ploughed into Mr Drennan, a native of Mountrath, Co Laois.
Moments before the fatal collision, Fogarty was filming himself on his mobile phone whilst behind the wheel of a BMW 5 Series car, traveling at speeds of 122kph in a 50kph zone.
He broke a red light, collided with another car, and ploughed into Mr Drennan who was standing at a bus stop after finishing a work shift at a nearby restaurant.
Fogarty attempted to wipe his DNA from the BMW before fleeing the scene on foot and afterwards, despite pleas from his mother to hand himself into gardai, he refused, and he was eventually arrested a month later.
Joe Drennan’s sister, Sarah Drennan, said her brother’s death had “left an unbearable emptiness” in her family, and that, “Joe was taken in a most violent, senseless way possible, in a moment of senseless, reckless disregard for human life”.
Fogarty’s own barrister, senior counsel, Mark Nicholas, said Fogarty’s driving on the night was “appalling, undeniably serious, reckless, dangerous, disgraceful and inexcusable”.
Fogarty had 46 previous convictions including 41 for road traffic offences including dangerous driving.
