Tipperary man denies attempted murder of victim doused in petrol and set on fire
Chad Allan (28) of Cahir has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Patrick Williams in Limerick's Central Criminal Court. The alleged attack involved petrol being thrown and ignited.
Cahir man on trial for attempted murder by fire in County Tipperary
A 28-year-old man from Cahir, County Tipperary, went on trial in Limerick on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to the attempted murder of a man who was allegedly doused in petrol and set alight, limerickpost.ie reports.
Chad Allan, of Cahir, appeared before the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Limerick, charged with the attempted murder of Patrick Williams, a man in his 40s, at Knockane, Ballylooby, Cahir, on 11 October 2025.
Allan also pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting Williams causing serious harm at the same location on the same date, as well as denying a charge of arson of a car belonging to John Coffey. A further charge — the alleged theft of green diesel, petrol, kerosene, two cups of coffee, and a can of Redbull from a filling station owned by James Butler in Cahir on the same date — was also denied by the accused.
Allan is represented at trial by senior counsel Bernard Condon.
Prosecution outlines alleged joint attack
Senior prosecution counsel Eoghan Cole, assisted by Edmund Sweetman BL and instructed by the solicitor for the DPP, told the jury of six men and six women that Allan "acted jointly" with a man named Luke Caplice "in an attempt to murder Mr Williams."
Cole set out the prosecution's account: on 11 October 2025, Williams arrived at the home of Luke Caplice driving a red Audi owned by John Coffey. After Williams had been at the location for some time, Caplice arrived in a grey jeep. An altercation followed, captured on CCTV.
"The grey jeep was driven into the red Audi in an aggressive and violent way, pushing the Audi backwards, the prosecution say," Cole told the court.
Williams then got out of the Audi, at which point, according to Cole, "Luke Caplice threw petrol onto him, significant quantities of it, and set him on fire, using a lighter."
The prosecution's case is that Allan participated in the joint attack and that he and Caplice shared the specific intent that Williams would die in the fire. The jury will also hear evidence that the two men allegedly made off without paying for fuel from a filling station and were jointly involved in the burning of the red Audi.
CCTV footage to be shown to jury
Cole told the jury they would hear evidence directly from the injured party, Patrick Williams, and would be shown CCTV footage alleged to depict the attack.
He reminded jurors that their role was to decide the case solely on the evidence to be heard from witnesses, and not on the basis of his opening address. The accused is to be presumed innocent unless the prosecution proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt — described by Cole as "a high standard, but not an impossible standard."
Evidence is scheduled to begin on Thursday before Ms Justice Melanie Greally.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)