A tearful Carol O’Brien of Kennedy Park, Roscrea, hugged William McDermott, from Embury Close, Adare, outside Limerick Circuit Court.

Minutes earlier, Mr McDermott, aged 72, was cleared by a jury of dangerous driving causing the death of Mrs O’Brien’s father, Michael Doran, aged 69.

He was found guilty of a lesser charge of careless driving causing Mr Doran’s death.

Mrs O’Brien, a 49-year- old mother of five, said: “He cried when I hugged him. I am a very good person and that is the way we were brought up. My father would have been proud looking down on me from heaven. There is no anger in our family.

“We have peace of mind knowing he is in heaven. He would want us and Mr McDermott to be able to get on with our lives.

“Both families have had a hard time. We are not looking for revenge, but just a bit of peace of mind. My father was an elderly man and so is the driver of the car. It’s all over now and we want my father to rest and let the other man get on with his life and not to be sad.”

Mrs O’Brien said the only punishment Mr McDermott should get is a period off the road.

“No jail. My father was a gentleman and this man seems to be a gentleman, both elderly men. Today, when the jury were out, he asked me if I’d like to go for a coffee.

“When I go home today I will pray for that man. I have no hard feelings.”

The accident happened at around 7.30pm on St Stephen’s Day, 2011, after Mr Doran, from Templemore, left University Hospital Limerick to get an ice cream at Supermac’s. He pushed a wheelchair to help him walk to the take-away. Crossing the road after leaving Supermacs he was struck by a car driven by Mr McDermott. The incident was described in court as a “tragic accident”.

Mr McDermott was driving at around 20km/h at the time, having just left a relative’s house in Dooradoyle to return home. He stopped at the scene and gave a full statement to gardaí.

Sabrina Byrne, another daughter of Michael Doran, said their real problem was with the HSE: “That our father was allowed leave a hospital with a wheelchair and a walking stick in the condition he was in. So our problem is with the HSE, not the man who knocked him down. But the HSE said they have no case to answer, that it is a hospital, not a prison.”

Since 2010, three of Mr Doran’s 13 children have died — one in tragic circumstances and another from a brain tumour.

After the jury returned their verdict in under two hours, Judge Carroll Moran extended his sympathy to the Doran family. He said he will deal with sentencing on Wednesday.