Courts

Gardaí investigate ‘threatening’ letter to judge in Limerick hit and run case

Sentence imposed by Judge Colin Daly on Kieran Fogarty has been criticised as too lenient

Kieran Fogarty: jailed for dangerous driving causing the death of University of Limerick journalism student Joe Drennan. Photograph: Facebook
Kieran Fogarty: jailed for dangerous driving causing the death of University of Limerick journalism student Joe Drennan. Photograph: Facebook
David Raleigh
Tue Feb 11 2025 - 12:48

A Garda investigation has begun after a “threatening” letter was sent to a judge who jailed a man who killed a student in a Co Limerick hit and run.

The handwritten correspondence for Judge Colin Daly was intercepted by courts services staff at the Limerick Circuit Criminal Court complex on Mulgrave Street, Limerick City.

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 the Garda to be contacted.

“An Garda Síochána is aware of correspondence received at a premises in Limerick city in February 2025,” the Garda Press Office said, adding that “enquiries are ongoing”.

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On January 30th, Judge Daly sentenced Kieran Fogarty (21) to six and half years in prison after Fogarty admitted dangerous driving causing the death of pedestrian Joe Drennan, failing to offer Mr Drennan assistance and fleeing the scene.

The judge initially told Fogarty’s sentencing hearing that the hit and run sentence would run consecutively to an eight-year sentence he also imposed on Fogarty, who admitted discharging a firearm at adults and children standing outside a house, in a separate incident.

However, Judge Daly corrected himself in court, telling the hearing that Fogarty’s two sentences would actually run concurrently, meaning he would not serve any jail time for the fatal hit and run.

The sentencing sparked public outcry, and a vigil and a protest march took place in Limerick last week, calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the terms of the sentence on grounds it was unduly lenient and that both sentences should run consecutively.

The Court Services did not respond when asked for comment about the letter.

When informed about the letter, Marguerite Drennan, Joe Drennan’s mother, said she did not condone anyone sending a threatening letter to a judge.

“I wouldn’t condone that now, no way,” Ms Drennan said.

Joe Drennan from Mountrath, Co Laois. The student of journalism at the University of Limerick died after he was struck by a car in a hit-and-run incident while waiting at a bus stop in October 2023. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien
Joe Drennan from Mountrath, Co Laois. The student of journalism at the University of Limerick died after he was struck by a car in a hit-and-run incident while waiting at a bus stop in October 2023. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien

The Drennan family held demonstration outside the Dáil on Tuesday, calling for the DPP to appeal Fogarty’s sentence. Ms Drennan said they were also due to meet Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald to support their campaign for justice for their son. .

The family started an online petition on February 6th – which has been signed by more than 11,000 people – calling on the Government and the 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”.

A spokeswoman for the DPP said last week it “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 people for reasons of confidentiality.”

[ ‘I’ve a full head of anger in me’: Family of hit-and-run victim Joe Drennan say justice denied ]

Fogarty, of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, who was not known to Joe Drennan, was speeding and filming himself on a mobile phone, while behind the wheel of a car in the moments leading up to the fatal hit and run.

Fogarty was on bail, subject to several arrest warrants, and banned from driving at the time.

He broke a red light, collided with another and ploughed into a bus stop where Mr Drennan was waiting for a bus on October 13th, 2023.

Mr 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.

Mr Drennan had finished a work shift at a restaurant and was waiting for his bus home when he was struck and killed.

At his sentencing hearing, last month, Fogarty received further concurrent sentences for engaging in violent disorder, possessing drugs for sale or supply. He also pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a man in April 2023. The offence was taken into consideration by Judge Daly.