A 37-year-old Dublin man was last night acquitted of the manslaughter of his Scottish neighbour three years ago at Fatima Mansions.
The jury deliberated for just over two hours at the Central Criminal Court before it found Mr Isaac Horgan of Fatima Mansions not guilty of the manslaughter of Douglas McManus.
Mr Justice Paul Butler thanked the jurors and discharged them from service for the next five years.
Mr Horgan had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr McManus (36), also of Fatima Mansions, on June 17th, 2002.
He had also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Mark Holmes, originally from Ranelagh, Dublin, on the same date.
On Monday Judge Butler withdrew the murder charge from the jury and directed that the case proceed with a manslaughter charge. He also directed the jury to find the accused not guilty of assaulting Mr Holmes.