Man cleared of attack on pal

A West Cork man accused of breaking his best friend’s cheekbone with a punch to the face after drinking 15 Jaegerbombs, five or six bottles of Heineken, and 10 to 12 shots of tequila has been acquitted.

A jury unanimously found him not guilty of assault causing harm yesterday at the end of a two-day trial.

One of the pieces of prosecution evidence was the defendant’s text to his friend in hospital, which read: “Hey lad, sorry about last night. I don’t know what happened. I’ll pay your hospital bill. Sorry.”