A 37-year-old Dublin man, described by his own barrister as "a rough diamond", has been cleared of murdering the man he was being paid to protect.

A prosecuting barrister has told a jury that the issue they have to decide is whether the accused pulled the trigger and discharged the bullet that killed the deceased in a Dublin pub two years ago.

The chief eyewitness in a murder trial has told the Central Criminal Court he did not tell the full story to gardaí in his first statement because he was in fear of his life.