Ross Allen pleaded not guilty to murder in Offaly trial

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Ross Allen and co-accused Matthew Gralton pleaded not guilty to murdering Christy Daly in an Offaly murder trial. The proceedings were reported on 5 April 2016.

Gary Ganude said he had helped Christy Daly tow his car back to his caravan near a bog outside Clara, Co Offaly, when they saw a few men near a nearby laneway in the early hours of 29 December 2013. He said Mr Daly wondered what they were doing there at that hour.

The report said Mr Daly’s body was found in a drain near his burnt-out caravan nine days later. He had been beaten and shot a number of times.

The prosecution believed he was killed by two members of a Dublin gang after a bag containing €30,000 worth of drugs went missing. The report said Allen was accused of leaving the bag near Mr Daly’s caravan and blaming him for taking it when he could not find it. Both accused were alleged to have played a role in getting the two gang members involved.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.