Mr Phelan maintained he felt under threat and was acting in legitimate self defence when he fired three warning shots in the air. He did not intend to hit Mr Conlon and the third shot struck him accidentally, the defence said.
The prosecution's case had been that Mr Phelan intended to kill Mr Conlon or cause him serious injury when he shot him, and his use of force was not lawful.
Relatives of Mr Conlon sat in silence as the verdict was delivered before walking out of court and saying in a statement that they were "very hurt and disappointed" by it.
The jury delivered its verdict at the Central Criminal Court this afternoon, after just under seven hours of deliberation and following a ten-week trial.
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