THERE were emotional scenes yesterday in Moutrath as family and friends gathered for the funeral of tragic hit-and-run victim, Joe Drennan.
The star University of Limerick journalism student, who turned 21 just before his death, was carried into St Fergal’s church in Camross to a recording of John Lennon singing “Beautiful Boy”.
Mr Drennan (21), from Knocknagad, Mountrath, County Laois, was standing waiting at a bus stop when he was struck and killed by a car which had collided with another car on the Dublin Road in Castletroy, County Limerick, last Friday.
The Requiem Mass began with a tribute from head of Mr Drennan’s journalism course in UL, where he was a final year student, Dr Kathryn Hayes.
Dr Hayes paid tribute to the final year student’s “incredible work ethic” and “passion for being a voice for people who were marginalised”.
As editor-in-chief of UL’s student newspaper ‘The Limerick Voice’, and in his plans for a brilliant future career, she said that Joe “wanted to change the world”.
She said he had “an ability to connect with people from all walks of life … he was a hard worker, with drive and ambition. He wanted to be a voice for those who needed it. He was going to be a star.”
Mr Drennan was shortlisted for Student Journalist of the Year last April at the Student Media awards.
Dr Hayes recounted howJoe was so inventive and hardworking that he had to hire a spare locker in school for the stock he sold in a shop he set up there.
“He went into the La Cucina restaurant to get a coffee and came out with two coffees and a job,” she told the congregation.
Dr Hayes said that Joe “blossomed when he came to Limerick” and “grew when he went to Berlin” where the German-speaking student spent a semester abroad.
Paying tribute to the huge love and support which Joe had experienced from his family, Dr Hayes said “one thing was central to Joe’s story and that was love. He showed love to everyone and was loved in return”.
The course head said that Joe’s life had been “cruelly cut short but he left an incredible legacy. His story will never be forgotten.”
Quoting George Bernard Shaw, who said that life was not a flickering candle but a “flaming torch”, Ms Hayes said “Joe’s torch will never be extinguished”.
The packed congregation were joined by almost 600 people who watched the live stream of the Mass online.
Items representing the late student’s many interests and talents, including a cap and notebook, were brought as offerings during the Mass.
He was laid to rest afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.
The driver of the car that struck and killed Mr Drennan remains the subject of a Garda search, having fled the scene immediately after the fatal collision.
As Gardaí had interacted with the car earlier on the night, the matter has been referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).
A GSOC spokeswoman said it “received a referral from An Garda Síochána during the early hours of Saturday, 14 October, following a road traffic incident in the Annacotty area”.
“The referral was made by a Garda Superintendent under section 102(1) of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005. The matter is now under examination by GSOC and no further comment will be made at this time,” the spokeswoman added.
Gardaí are understood to be investigating whether there are any links between parties involved in the fatal hit and run and the discovery of a vehicle on fire in Corbally earlier on the same night.
A Garda spokeswoman said Gardaí were investigating “an incident of criminal damage by fire of a car” and that their “enquiries are ongoing and no further information is available at this time”.
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, joined others in offering condolences to Joe Drennan’s family and friends and his fellow students.
A tweet from Minister Harris’s read: “Sending my sincere sympathy and thoughts to all in UL and to Joe’s family and friends on this devastating news. I know the university community is grieving and we grieve with them at this very sad and difficult time.”
A letter emailed to staff and students by the President of University of Limerick, Professor Kirstin Mey, stated: “We hold Joe’s family in our thoughts, our sympathies go out to all of Joe’s journalism classmates and lecturers, to his housemates, friends and fellow UL students and the many others who will be so devastated by his loss.”
Gardaí appealed for “any road users who were travelling in the area of Dublin Road, Castletroy, Limerick on Friday 13th October, between 9pm and 10pm, and who may have camera footage (including dashcam)” to make the footage available to investigators at Henry Street Garda Station on 061 212 400, the Garda Confidential Hotline on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Mr Drennan is survived by his parents Tim and Marguerite, sisters Sarah, Ava, and Marie, and brothers Richard, John, and Kieran.
