Four of the six men accused of the manslaughter of Mr Josie Dwyer in Dolphin's Barn, Dublin, have been freed after Judge Patrick McCartan ruled they had no case to answer.
Mr John Kenny (40), Mr Martin Glynn (46) and Mr Christopher O'Shea (49), all of Dolphin House, Rialto, and Mr Anthony Kelly (36), of Fatima Mansions, were told they could go home after Judge McCartan directed the jury to clear them of manslaughter charges.
The four were also cleared of violent disorder and of assaulting Mr Alan Byrne, who was with Mr Dwyer when they were attacked in Basin Lane, Dublin on May 14th, 1996.
The case continues against two other men, Mr William Kenny(55), St Anthony's Road, and Mr Mark Alford (30), of Seagull House, Crumlin, who are alleged to have killed Mr Dwyer after an anti-drugs meeting in the Dolphin's Barn area of south innercity Dublin.
Judge McCartan said in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the last civilian witness in the case had given evidence and there was no basis on which the jury could consider a guilty verdict against the four men, whom he directed the jury to find not guilty.
Earlier, the court heard evidence from Ms Joan Kenny, who told the court that one of her brothers had died from a drug addiction and two other brothers had been drug abusers.
She told prosecuting counsel Mr George Birmingham SC that, in May 1996, her mind was "like cabbage" because her son, Keith, had also become heavily involved in drugs.
She said she attended a Concerned Parents' anti-drugs meeting in Dolphin's Barn Community Centre on May 14th, 1996, and asked for help. She asked a man named Mr Ronald Byrne if he could persuade Keith to join drugs therapy.
After the meeting, participants went to look for drug-users in the stairwells of Dolphin House. Ms Kenny held back tears as she told Mr Sean Gillane, counsel for Mr Mark Alford, that young people in the flats were using "every type of drug".
She said addicts were urinating and "banging up" on drugs in the stairways and residents couldn't let children out because there were used needles on the stairs.
Ms Melanie Coughlan told the court that she was going out with Mr Keith Kenny in May 1996. Some time in the evening of May 14th, a crowd surrounded them as they passed through the grounds of Dolphin House.
She said Mr Kenny tried to walk away but some man pushed him back and warned him about his behaviour. The crowd later moved away.
The trial continues before Judge McCartan and a jury of six women and six men.