A Belfast man will stand trial in November charged with the manslaughter of another man during an incident in the west of the city last year.

Joseph Brennan died in hospital after a suspected altercation outside a bar on Cupar Street, off the Springfield Road, on 6 March 2024. Joseph Martin Dempsey, 38, of Clonard Gardens, is accused of unlawfully killing him.

At Belfast Crown Court on Monday, Dempsey pleaded not guilty to the single count of manslaughter when he was arraigned.

Madam Justice McBride set a trial date of 18 November and listed a review hearing for 18 September. She released Dempsey on continuing bail.

A defence barrister told the court that two matters were outstanding: an expert examination of Dempsey’s mental health and intellectual functioning, and the defence’s instruction of its own forensic pathologist.