By Louise Roseingrave

Changes to the road layout where a cyclist was tragically killed could save the lives of others, an inquest has heard.

The jury at the inquest into the death of Daragh Ryan (30) recommended the provision of safety measures where he died attempting to enter the Phoenix Park in Dublin on his bicycle.

The accident happened on the Conyngham Road as the young man tried to cross the road to enter the Phoenix Park through the Islandbridge Gate on March 12 2017.

“We are delighted the jury made this recommendation, it’s one consolation for us having lost our beloved son. This was a tragedy for us and for everyone involved,” Mr Ryan’s mother Dr Sarah Rogers said, speaking after the inquest.

She described her son, an experienced cyclist who was training for a cycling trip abroad as ‘kind, gentle and loving.’ Mr Ryan worked part-time with an IT firm having completed a degree in classical civilisation and a diploma in psychology.

The driver of the car that struck the young man wept in court as she recalled the tragedy. Maria McGeever said she didn’t see the cyclist until he struck the windscreen. Mr Ryan, from Heytesbury Street in Portobello, Dublin 8 was thrown into the air following the collision.

He suffered multiple traumatic injuries to his head and chest due to the impact and died later in hospital.

Witnesses said they felt the cyclist had made a ‘bad error’ at 2.05pm on what was described as a clear, dry Sunday afternoon.

Rachel Kay said she saw the cyclist stopped on the white line waiting to cross the road into Phoenix Park at the Islandbridge Gate.

“As he started to turn I thought he was in trouble. He picked the worst time to cross the lane. The car hit his peddle, he hit the bonnet and went up in the air,” she said.

The cyclist had been thrown 17 metres from the point of impact and was unresponsive.

“I just kept speaking to him until the ambulance arrived,” she said.

Charles Forrester, a passenger in Miss Kay’s car, said he felt the cyclist had made ‘a bad error.’

The ambulance arrived at 2.22pm. Mr Ryan was rushed to St James’s Hospital where a full trauma team battled to save his life until he was pronounced dead at 3.10pm.

The cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries due to a road traffic collision.

A forensic collision report found the car that struck the cyclist was travelling at 56kmph. Garda Patrick McIlroy said the Islandbridge Gate provides for traffic exiting the park only but the gate is routinely used by cyclists and pedestrians entering the park.

Pedestrian access is through a rotary gate. The speed limit in the area is 50kmph.

Dublin Coroner’s Court heard that a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and no charges were brought.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death and recommended the junction layout be examined with a view to providing park access for cyclists and a pedestrian crossing at or near the Islandbridge Gate location.

Deputy Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher extended her sympathies to the family.

“He was a fit, healthy, active and accomplished young man with so much to look forward to,” Dr Gallagher said.