An American husband has spoken of his heartache after the honeymoon car crash in Ireland that killed his wife - just days after their wedding.

U.S. Navy man Sean Kennedy has told a court case in Ireland that the accident robbed him of his ‘best friend’ and ‘any joy in life’.

Kennedy said that the 2011 crash took the life of a potentially ‘wonderful’ mother and grandmother.

He spoke as a 36-year-old woman avoided a jail term after admitting dangerous driving causing the death of Emily Maguire Kennedy on the Termonfeckin road outside Drogheda.

He said: “She would have made the most wonderful mother and grandmother. She was taken from me as our life together was getting started.”

In a victim-impact statement, Kennedy described how the death of his 27-year-old wife had left his life ‘empty of joy’.

He added: “What I think about most is how I never got to say goodbye and ‘I love you’ one last time.”

The court also heard a joint victim-impact statement from Emily’s parents John and Marie and her four brothers John Marcus, Anthony, Terence and Paul.

They said: “We have to carry Emily’s loss to every family event. We struggle to overcome the loss of her daily.”

The judge described the loss as heartbreaking. Judge O’Shea said: “Catastrophic is an under-statement”.

“It is impossible for me to calculate or estimate the loss of Emily to her husband, parents and family.”

The judge imposed a two-year sentence on Lawal but suspended it on her entering into a good behaviour bond for three years. He disqualified her from driving for four years.

The Kennedys had been living in America but were on holiday at her home town of Termonfeckin, Co Louth when the accident occurred.

They had enjoyed a marriage ceremony in Termonfeckin church a few days earlier,a brief honeymoon and were due to return to the US the day after the collision.

The court heard that the defendant Elizabeth Lawal was not familiar with the four-road crossroad on the main Termonfeckin to Drogheda road and had driven straight through a stop sign, the Independent reports.

The deceased was a back-seat passenger in a Kia Sportage being driven by her brother Paul while their mum Marie was in the passenger seat.