A jury at Trim Circuit Court has found an 18-year-old Co Meath man not guilty of the manslaughter of his father.
Mr David Kavanagh was charged with the unlawful killing of Mr Gerard Kavanagh at the family home at Callaighstown, Kells, on the night of May 21st/22nd, 2000.
The father died from two stab wounds to the back, which punctured both his lungs.
Mr Kavanagh did not deny killing his father but told the court he had found his father choking his mother, Eilish, and believed if he had not done something that she would have died.
The evidence in the case was not in dispute, and Mr Brendan Grogan, defending, said the accused did not deny the killing.
In Irish law a killing may be lawful if it is done in defence of one's self or another, and Mr Grogan said David Kavanagh believed he was defending his mother and if he did not interfere she would die.
He told garda∅ that his parents returned home on the night of the 21st from a christening, and his father was drunk. He had "given out" to his nine-year-old daughter and then to his wife, telling her to get him his tea. He was aggressive and swearing.
David said his father had spilt milk when he opened the fridge door and became aggressive again when Mrs Kavanagh had cleaned it up with a rag and bucket.
He gave out to her for using the bucket and slammed his fist down on a counter. When he tried to take the bucket from her she resisted and went into the utility room. From there David heard them arguing and believed that his father had grabbed his mother and was hitting her.
David took a knife from the kitchen with the intention of using it to scare his father into letting his mother go. However, when he went to the utility room he found his father had his hands around her throat, her face was purple and she was coughing.
"I said: 'Dad, let her go, let her go'. He never answered or moved his head. I thought he was going to choke her to death. I lashed out and stabbed him twice," the defendant told the court yesterday.
He told garda∅ he had "lost the head" when he stabbed him.
The court heard from Mr Kavanagh's eldest son, Martin (20), that their father was two different people when sober and drunk. When his father came home after drinking, his children would go to bed so they would be in bed when he came into the house, he said.
Garda Peter Kenny, who knew the Kavanagh family, agreed that when sober Gerard Kavanagh was friendly and helpful but was aggressive when intoxicated.
The State Pathologist, Prof John Harbison, said the deceased died from blood loss as a result of the stabbing. He had a blood-alcohol level of 366 per 100mg; the legal limit is 80.
Mr Grogan told the jury that David Kavanagh had been justified in his actions in defence of his mother and would do anything to bring his father back.
The jury returned with its unanimous verdict of not guilty after 45 minutes. Judge Raymond Groarke said it was a traumatic case for everyone involved.
Afterwards family members, who had supported the plea of not guilty, were overcome with emotion. A family spokesman said: "Both sides of the family are happy with the result."