A man has been cleared of raping a woman he met on Tinder.

The man, whose identity is protected, was accused of raping her at Kilmashogue Lane after driving her up the Dublin Mountains.

The jury of six men and six women returned at around 3 o’clock. They had been deliberating for four hours and 13 minutes over the past three days.

There were emotional scenes when the foreman told the court they had decided to acquit the 35-year-old accused.

He put his hands together in the dock and repeatedly thanked them as they were led away.

The woman who claimed he’d raped her in his car after driving her up the Dublin Mountains on a Tinder date in Sept 2014 was burst into tears at the back of the court room.

During her evidence, she insisted the sex was NOT consensual. He told Gardaí it was.

He said she undressed herself in the passenger seat and was a willing participant.

After the jury left, the accused shouted “stitch up scumbag” at one of the investigating Gardaí.

Our Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney reports: