The family of Martin Lynn who died in an unprovoked attack in July 2023 has said they feel "hugely let down" by the justice system and will campaign for sentencing reform.
The 33-year-old was punched after getting out of a taxi near his home in July 2023. He died two days later.
Mr Lynn's family said they were in disbelief earlier this month over the six-year sentence handed down to the perpetrator and immediately made a request for the leniency of the sentence to be appealed.
This weekend, they were informed by gardaí that the Director of Public Prosecutions has taken a decision not to appeal.
Sharon Lynn, Mr Lynn's sister, said it "is quite a cold blunt end to a long process for us".
"It is completely shocking when you realise how short a sentence a person can serve for some act of violence that was completely unprovoked and vicious in nature," she said.
While the family's pursuit of a longer sentence has ended, she said her campaign for justice continues with calls for sentencing reform.
"Martin had a really strong sense of right and wrong, a very strong moral compass. I think he would be completely outraged at the sentence that was assigned for his case. To think life is worth so little. The way our system is designed at the moment you can kill someone in a violent manner and that is treated in the same category as negligence. That, to me, makes absolutely no sense."
Ms Lynn believes that public confidence in the justice system is also eroding. She thinks that changes to sentencing could result in "stronger deterrents" for these types of assaults.
"There's very little deterrents there at the moment," she said.
"I think these type of violent assaults are becoming more common in society and I think people need to speak out more about it for change to happen."
In recent weeks, she had set up an online petition in support of a stronger sentence for Mr Lynn's death, and it received almost 5000 signatures in a short space of time.
"It has been very clear that the public were outraged by this decision and couldn't understand how a low sentence is justified," she said.
Ms Lynn said she was always protective of her younger brother and describes how the loss of her only sibling is still raw.
"It is not like normal grief, you have an added layer of trauma on top of it," she said.
"I suffer with stress and anxiety. Small things, I don't want to go out on my own anywhere after dark. Your sense of safety is completely shattered when someone, a close family member, is killed by violence. That is something you can never accept or ever get over."
She is determined to use her voice in some way to influence positive change in memory of Mr Lynn.
"The type of person Martin was, I think he would be fully behind fighting, in his name for a better justice system because we really don't want other families to go through the torture our family has been put through."
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