A mother who sued for nervous shock after her son died following a hit-and-run in Co Monaghan has settled her High Court action.
Shane O'Farrell, a 23-year-old law student, was cycling on the N2 between Carrickmacross and Castleblaney some time after 10pm on 2 August 2011 when his bike was struck by a car.
He had just handed in his dissertation for a Masters degree in law at Trinity College, Dublin and was training for a triathlon.
His mother, Lucia O'Farrell from Carrickmacross, sued the driver of the car, 39-year-old Zigimantas Gridziuska, for nervous shock as a result of the incident.
She told Mr Justice Raymond Fullam the joy has gone out of her life since her son died.
"I relive every minute of the day that it happened. I will never move on. My life is over," she said.
The mother of four daughters said she had a special bond with her only son and has not changed anything in his room since his death.
"His laptop is where he left it; his jeans that he took off still on the bed. The guitar gathers dust. I have not touched anything in his room, you think, maybe, he could just come back," she added.
"My son is dead and is not coming home. I lost my only son. Now I see everything as being over. There is no fixing it."
Mrs O'Farrell said she had to give up her job as a psychiatric nurse due to ill health and became quite isolated.
She did not want to go out or meet anyone or encounter Gridziuska who was on bail on charges relating to the crash.
In her High Court action, Mrs O'Farrell sued for nervous shock claiming that since the accident she has suffered post traumatic stress disorder and a severe grief reaction including flashbacks and nightmares.
Her counsel Gabriel Gavigan said the case had been settled and could be struck out.
The terms of settlement are confidential.
Anthony Kidney SC for Gridziuska, said the defendant's legal team empathised and sympathised with the O'Farrells and had defended the case on the instruction of the insurer.
Mr Justice Fullam said it was in everyone's best interests the case had settled and he hoped, with the trauma of the litigation, both criminal and civil, behind them, the family can face the future together and live with their great loss.
At his criminal case in 2013, Gridziuska, who lived in Carrickmacross, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of failing to stop his car at the scene of the crash; failing to keep the car near the scene and failing to report the incident as soon as possible to gardaí.
He received a suspended sentence of eight months on condition he leave Ireland and return to his native Lithuania.
The jury in that trial was directed by Judge Patrick McCartan to find him not guilty of dangerous driving causing death as there was no evidence to support the charge.
Judge McCartan described Shane's death as a tragic accident which occurred because the deceased was not properly lit up.
Gridziuska entered into a bond to stay out of Ireland for ten years or face going to prison and was also banned from driving here for ten years.
Mr O'Farrell's family had called for an inquiry after it emerged that Gridziuska had a number of previous convictions and was on bail at the time of the hit-and-run.
The Circuit Criminal Court was told he was a former drug addict who had 49 previous convictions.
At the time of the offence he had been under a suspended sentence for theft. He was also on bail on four counts of theft and had received a six month sentence in January 2012.
Nine of his previous convictions were for traffic offences.
