There will be a march this weekend to once again demand justice for the late Joe Drennan.
The march will be held in the Drennan family’s home village of Camross at 12pm on Sunday, February 15.
A ‘Walk for Justice’ also took place in on Sunday, February 9, at St Fintain’s GAA Pitch in Mountrath.
The Mountrath student, 21, was killed in a hit and run incident in October of 2023.
The University of Limerick student was killed by 21 year old Kieran Fogarty of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick.
Mr Fogarty was handed a six-and-a-half year sentence for the crime.
However, that sentence will run concurrently with another longer sentence for a separate offence.
That left the Drennan family heartbroken and outraged as they felt that justice has not been done for Joe.
They have launched a petition calling on the laws in relation to sentencing to be changed.
Laois TD Brian Stanley and Cllr Caroline Dwane-Stanley have backed calls for a review of legislation.
They said: “The awful killing of local man Joe Drennan, underlines the clear need for changes to sentencing guidelines that are issued to the judiciary.
“We cannot have a situation where someone, as in Joe Drennan’s case is unlawfully killed, and the perpetrator does not serve one day in prison for the crime.
“We have made representations to the Fianna Fail Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, to initiate the necessary changes, so as to ensure that sentences run consecutively and not concurrently, as they have in this case.
“Separately, we have also made representation to the DPP, Catherine Pierce, requesting for a review of the sentencing in this case and to refer it to the Court of Criminal Appeal for retrial.
“We cannot tolerate any more situations like this, where some innocent person like Joe Drennan is killed by a person with multiple previous offences and the net result is that they do not serve one day in prison for it.”
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