A music student from Donegal who was rear-ended in her car in Carrigaline, Co Cork on her way to conduct a carol concert for children is to receive damages of €6.8m.
The High Court heard Hazel McGarrigle of Drumstevlin House, Donegal lived for her music.
The Irish examiner reports that McGarrigle was in her second year of a masters degree course at the CIT Cork School of Music when she suffered permanent brain damage in a road traffic accident in Carrigaline.
The 25-year-old was injured in December 2009 when her Nissan Micra was rear-ended with such force she was pushed into the car in front.
She suffered an intercranial injury that means she now uses a wheelchair and is fed through a tube.
Mr Justice Sean Ryan approved a settlement of €6.8m in an action against the other driver where liability was not an issue.
He said he was conscious relatives may think the concentration on money is to ignore the human tragedy involved and the heroism of the family in the care they provide.