The playwright Martin Lynch was cleared yesterday of breaking a man's jaw after he had been called a "sticky bastard."
The assault charge against the writer of the play, Sailortown, was dismissed at Belfast Magistrates' Court. Mr Lynch (48), Belfield Heights, Belfast, pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm to Mr Gerard Brankin (42), on the Ormeau Road, Belfast, on November 1st, 1997.