Bernadette Scully has been found not guilty of killing her daughter Emily Barut.

The Offaly GP - of Emvale, Bachelor's Walk in Tullamore - has spent the past few weeks defending an allegation that she unlawfully took her life through the excessive administration of a sedative.

Just before the seven women and five men of the jury filed back into the court at 11.15am, Ms Scully's sister told her to just breathe.

The packed courtroom fell silent. Her family held hands in the public gallery.

Moments later, she was a free woman with the jury having unanimously decided she was not guilty of her daughter's manslaughter.

She smiled while her family cried. Her partner Andrius raced to the dock and was the first to embrace her with tears in his eyes.

She had been accused of killing her 11-year-old daughter Emily through an act of gross negligence involving the excessive administration of the sedative chloral hydrate on September 15th 2012.

Before they began their deliberations, the jurors were asked to leave all emotion to one side. They reached their verdict after four hours of deliberations.

Outside the court, Ms Scully was swamped by family and friends. The prosecutor Tara Burns shook her hand and wished her well.

Ms Scully's solicitor read a statement on her behalf, after she was cleared of her daughter's manslaughter. She thanked Justice McCarthy and the staff at Tullamore regional hospital, and said she was "humbled" by the kindness and support offered to her and her family.

"Like me, very many parents and carers of children who are disabled struggled on a daily basis to get access to services and support systems, which are very often simply not there," the statement reads.

"Four years ago, I was in a very dark place, and I felt I had no reason to live after Emily had passed. But with the help and support of family and friends [...] I found the strength to go on."

The statement can be heard in full below.