A 26-year-old Laois man jailed for life as a teenager for hammering a boy to death will be released in less than two years, after his trial judge reviewed his sentence.

WHAT’S going wrong in Irish society? The perennial question takes on heightened relevance in light of the horrendous murders of two boys for their mobile phones.

Sixteen-year-old Darren Goodwin has been sentenced to life for hammering a 14-year-old school boy to death over a mobile phone by Mr Justice Barry White.

The mother of 14-year-old Daragh Conroy who was hammered to death for his mobile phone has told a court that "I will never be able to tell you I love you and that is more than I can bear".