The five-week trial of former doctor Paschal Carmody, who is accused of defrauding the families of two cancer patients, collapsed this afternoon.
Paschal Carmody, 63, of Ballycuggeran in Killaloe, Co Clare, had denied nine charges of defrauding the families of two terminally ill patients of over €16,500 by promising he could cure their cancer at his East Clinic in Killaloe on dates in 2001 and 2002.
The trial had been going on for 17 days and the judge was in the middle of his charge to the jury.
However it was brought to an abrupt end this afternoon when reports of the trial which appeared in both The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner were cited for possible contempt by defence counsel Patrick Marrinan.
The reports contained references to matters raised in the absence of the jury and because of this there was a danger Mr Carmody would not get a fair trial, his counsel claimed.
Judge Donagh McDonagh said while the risk was a small one he could not take a chance. He summoned the editors of both The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner or their legal agents to appear before him at Ennis Circuit Court tomorrow morning.
This is the second time that Mr Carmody has gone on trial over these matters.
Two years ago after a trial of similar length, the jury failed to agree on a number of charges and found him not guilty of several others.
