Court sketch/Alison Healy: "You are free to go," Judge Michael White told Dermot Laide yesterday, signalling the end of the court proceedings against him in connection with the death of Brian Murphy.
What started outside Club Anabel nearly six years ago ended in a three-minute hearing in court 24 at the Four Courts.
Although he knew that the State was dropping the manslaughter case against him, the young man from Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, still looked slightly stunned as his legal team began to gather its papers and Judge White turned to deal with the next case.
Brian Murphy's parents, Denis and Mary, were sitting in the back row of the court room. They were told in advance that the case would not be proceeding and they showed no reaction at the turn in events. The Murphys left the court without speaking to waiting reporters.
Outside, a phalanx of reporters and photographers waited for Mr Laide's exit from the court.
Led by his solicitor Donal Spring, Mr Laide approached the bank of cameras and addressed the media for the first time. His hands shook slightly as he began to read from a prepared statement.
In a clear voice, he expressed his profound regret and remorse for his involvement in the incident. A day did not go by that he did not think about the events of that night in August 2000. "If it were possible to do anything, I would do anything to turn the clock back," he said.
His voice grew stronger as he emphasised that he did not cause the death of Brian Murphy.
His hands stopped shaking as he outlined his belief that the State dropped the manslaughter case against him because of the new statement by the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy.
It found that Brian Murphy's injuries were "relatively minor" and expressed the view that alcohol-induced apnoea was a factor in his death.
He said he believed the manslaughter prosecution was "untenable and not justified". Now it was time to try to rebuild his life, he said, and he asked the media to respect his privacy and that of his family.
His solicitor told reporters that Mr Laide would not be answering any questions.
A reporter still tried to elicit an unscripted remark when she asked him about his co-accused, Seán Mackey, Desmond Ryan and Andrew Frame.
The four young men all stood accused of Brian Murphy's manslaughter when the case opened in January 2004.
One by one, the cases against each of them fell.
Mr Laide stood alone yesterday as he heard that he would not face a retrial.
He ignored the reporter's question about his co-accused and turned away from the flashing cameras for the last time.