'He may have called out to me', dead Kildare teen's mum tells court

A grieving mother told a court today that her belief in humanity has been shattered after her teenage son “was left to die on the side of the road.”

16 year old Kedagh Moore died after being struck by a car on the R403 at Blackwood, not far from his home at Graigues, Robertstown in the early hours of November 11, 2024.

Before Naas Circuit Court was the driver Marin Silaghi, 41, whose address was given as Ballybrittas, Portlaoise, for failing to stop, failing to keep the vehicle at the scene and failing to offer assistance, having been found guilty by a jury.

Giving evidence in the case through barrister Jordan Fletcher, Detective Garda Christine Brady agreed the road was quiet and dark with no street lighting.

The garda said a witness had told of a vehicle driving very slowly with a damaged light and it swerved but the entire vehicle did not cross to the other side.

When Kedagh Moore was found there was blood pooling on the road and there was no sign of life.

State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said that death would have been immediate.

The court also heard that the defendant was seen at a Spar store in Allenwood buying a bottle of spirits and a crate of beer.

The defendant was arrested after he approached a garda checkpoint and his windscreen was damaged and a headlight was not working.

The defendant said subsequently he believed he had hit a deer and he had been a passenger in a car which had struck a deer some years previously in Romania.

He did not believe he had hit a person and he did not go back and check after the incident.

He has no previous convictions.

Glenda Moore, Kedagh’s mother, said he was the most beautiful child and what happened to him was “utterly devastating and destructive."

She recalled holding him after his birth and the bond developing with his sister Sadhbh and she contrasted this with the “barbaric way he was treated” on the night of the accident.

She said he was extremely social and quick witted and “had a calm expression and a listening ear.”

She added: "That there was no remorse, no apology is an exploitation of my child's dignity.”

Ms Moore said her son was “left lying face down on the road, inhumanely left to die alone."

She added; “He may have called out to me in the moment of the collision. I struggle with the belief that I failed to be there for him. My understanding of who I am and what I am are decimated.”

Instead of trying to pick a suit for a school social event “we had to pick his coffin.”

She said the blue blanket covering him after the ambulance arrived was similar to the one which wrapped him after he was born.

He wrote rap lyrics which he and to his friends listened to and he loved walking. He was regarded by teachers and pupils as happy, dependable and popular.

Ms Moore’s health and well being have suffered and she attends weekly counselling.

John Moore, Kedagh’s dad, said his son was left handed and left footed and was talented at soccer with clubs like Prosperous United and Clane United - though he played many sports.

“My grief for a unique special little man is more profound than words can imagine.”

The family, he said, haven't been able to have Christmas at home.

"To hear him referred to as a deer or an animal has shattered me to my core. I’m trying to save my family from sinking under the weight of grief.”

Kedagh’s sister Sadhbh said he supported her, made her laugh and they used to talk into the early hours but “now there is no one to talk to.”

She added: “His death ruined my life. He’ll never get to be an adult and see all my milestones. He died in an ambulance and I’d only seen him a few hours before.”

The case was adjourned to Tuesday next for sentencing.