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LAST UPDATE | 6 Feb
THE PARENTS OF hit-and-run victim Joe Drennan said today they felt disrespected by a decision by a court to give their son’s killer a concurrent sentence, meaning he will not serve any jail time for the crime.
Tim and Marguerite Drennan were speaking at a vigil organised by journalism students at University of Limerick, where Joe Drennan was a fourth year student and an editor-in-chief of the university’s news platform, Limerick Voice.
Last week, Kieran Fogarty (21), of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, was jailed for eight years for firing a gun in a drive-by shooting. Fogarty received a concurrent sentence of six-and-a-half years for an entirely separate offence of dangerous driving causing Joe Drennan’s death and failing to remain at the scene in October 2023.
The Drennan family said they contacted the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions a number of times requesting that it appeals the sentence, on the grounds that Fogarty’s sentence for killing their son, should be consecutive (additional) to his sentence for the shooting.
Tim Drennan said the DPP told them “there is a process” that must be followed if they are to appeal the sentence, yet Tim Drennan said, “it’s alright for them to say there is a process – (Joe’s) our son”.
Sarah Drennan, Joe Drennan’s sister, said the family is campaigning for a change in sentencing laws “so that no other family goes through a similar situation”.
She said: “To give Kieran Fogarty, a known criminal, more leniency, than justice for my brother, was a disgrace in the court, it was a complete injustice for us.”
“That is why we have started a petition that concurrent sentences cannot happen when a fatality occurs, otherwise it just shows that the victims and their families don’t matter – but we do matter, and so we need to change the law,” Sarah Drennan said.
Joe Drennan’s mother, Marguerite Drennan, broke down as she tried to explain how, whilst they were trying to come to terms with Fogarty’s sentencing, her family felt they had to launch an online “#JusticeForJoe campaign” seeking support for their online petition.
The family of hit-and-run victim Joe Drennan are campaigning for a change in sentencing laws after his killer Kieran Fogarty received a concurrent sentence, which the family have described as a "complete injustice". https://t.co/MFagAuScU6 pic.twitter.com/sUgbZun3Qj
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) February 6, 2025
The petition, which requires 1,500 signatures, asks people to support the family’s “call on the government and Minister for Justice to amend the current sentencing laws to ensure that multiple sentences for multiple crimes, particularly those involving loss of life, are served consecutively rather than concurrently”.
Tim and Marguerite Drennan said they felt they had been treated “very badly” during Foagrty’s sentencing hearing.
Sentencing judge Colin Daly initially said Fogarty’s sentence for causing Joe Drennan’s death would run consecutive to the shooting sentence, however he later corrected this.
During the hearing at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court, Tim Drennan respectfully asked the judge if it meant Fogarty would not serve a day in jail “for killing my son”. The judge did not respond and rose from the bench to his chambers.
Speaking at the vigil for his son in UL today, Tim Drennan said: “There is no respect at all to the victims, the law seems to be weighted towards the criminal, it seems that way anyway, it just doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s hard to do this, we shouldn’t be here doing this, it has been very hard to deal with this over the last week, the disappointment with the [sentence] and the lack of respect, I suppose.”
Tim Drennan said his message to lawmakers was that concurrent sentences are “not suitable at all for crimes committed over a period of time”.
“It just allows [the criminal] to do as much crime as you can before you’re caught – that’s basically the message I see coming out of the courts”.
Tim Drennan said his late son “did the best he could in his life for everybody, and everybody has to do their best for Joe, now”.
Tim Drennan said they were buoyed by a large turnout of students, UL staff, including UL Vice President Professor Ann Ledwith, and other members of the public, in support of their campaign for justice.
“The response has been very good, everybody in the country, and beyond, seems to be as horrified as we were. Everybody is horrified, and it will be somebody else tomorrow,” Tim Drennan added.
The Drennan family said they are to take part in a walk to raise awareness about their campaign in their native Mountrath, Co Laois at 1pm, next Sunday.
“So we will go from there, that’s all we can do, stay going, just stay going,” offered Marguerite Drennan holding a sign, which read “#JusticeForJoe”.
When asked for a response to the Drennan’s comments regarding its contacting its office, a spokeswoman for the DPP replied: “The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions does not comment on individual cases.”
The DPP spokeswoman added: “For information, I would point out that while the Office of the DPP has a Victims Liaison Unit who deal with telephone queries from victims of crime – or family members of victims of crime – the staff of that unit are not permitted to discuss individual cases on the phone with those persons for reasons of confidentiality.
“They would instead provide general information similar to what is available on our website about various processes.”
Meanwhile, Limerick Fianna Fáil TD, Willie O’Dea said this evening he was supporting the Drennan family‘s call on the DPP to appeal Kieran Fogarty’s sentence.
In a video posted on X, Deputy O’Dea said Joe Drennan was “a young man full of talent, compassion and ambition” who was killed “by an individual who was banned from driving and on bail for other crimes”.
O’Dea said Joe Drennan’s death was “an appalling atrocity” and that the concurrent sentence imposed on Kieran Fogarty meant Fogarty “did not get one extra day in prison for [killing] Joe Drennan, in a car which he was not supposed to be driving on the occasion, trying to escape from the Gardaí”.
Deputy O’Dea described the concurrent sentence for Joe Drennan’s death as “appalling”.
“It effectively declares Joe Drennan’s life as valueless,” the Limerick TD said.
“So, I’m now calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the sentence imposed on the individual in this case, and I think that the director of public prosecutors should immediately announce their intention to do so.”
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