A judge has offered sympathies to the parents of a boy who died after his bicycle was hit by a man driving a Ford Ranger pickup truck in Cork.

Judge Dermot Sheehan was speaking before sentencing the driver to two-years in prison and disqualifying him from driving for six years. 

John Moynihan of Parkanillane, Kilnamartyra, Macroom, County Cork previously pleaded guilty to the single charge of dangerous driving causing the death of eight-year-old André Castro Ladeiro in August 2023 

His mother Filipa described the day the family cycle turned to tragedy at a pedestrian crossing in Carrigaline and the days after it as “five devastating days that ended in the world’s worst nightmare”. 

“Little peace will come when we see this driver behind bars, the earthly result of his actions,” the family said in their victim impact statement. 

“Does this outcome take in account all the suffering it caused? Is this what people want for justice in the 21st century in the Republic of Ireland? 

“Is this outcome anyway proportional to the life of a child that had so much to live, so much to share?

“One good man has died, that man is André.”

The family also said the impact on their younger son was “visible every day”. 

“Everyday, he dives into memories of that day, when he watched his brother get run over, losing the most important person in his life,” they said. 

“As a consequence, he began to face nightmares, screams in the middle of the night, fear of crossing the road, problems managing his feelings, therapies [and the] fear of dying.” 

Garda Dinah Birnbaum said John Moynihan drove through a red traffic light and hit the young boy as he cycled across a pedestrian crossing which was showing a green man for pedestrians.

Defence senior counsel Jane Hyland said speed was not a factor, the accused had accepted full responsibility and deeply regrets killing André.

Main image: André Castro Ladeiro. Image: RIP.ie 

Reporting by Jamie O'Hara and James Wilson.