Three men have been remanded in custody after they were charged in connection with an arson attack on a house in Killarney which gardaí allege was in retaliation for a similar arson attack 24 hours earlier on another house in an escalating feud between two Traveller families.
Keith Horan (36) with an address at Denny St, Tralee, Shane Nolan (28) of no fixed abode, and David Walsh (31) of Cois Coille, Killeen Road, Tralee were brought before Cork District Court today when they were each charged with two separate arson offences.
All three were charged with causing damage by fire to the front of a house including the front window and sitting room of the property at Pinewood Estate, Killarney and criminal damage by fire to a Nissan Qashqai at Ballinalouth, Tralee, both on May 13th 2026.
Det Garda Tim Walsh of Listowel Garda Station said gardaí were objecting to bail for Keith Horan because of the seriousness of the charge which carries a sentence of up to life imprisonment upon conviction on indictment and the strength of the evidence against the accused.
He said that a woman and her 20-year-old daughter were asleep in the terraced house at Pinewood when it was attacked at 5.05am on the day in question and he alleged that the incident was in retaliation for a similar arson attack in Tralee some 24 hours earlier.
“This is a terraced house with adjoining homes on either side, and this incident could have had catastrophic and even fatal consequences,” he said before adding that another ground for his objection to bail was the strength of evidence against Mr Horan and his co-accused.
This included witness statements from the injured parties identifying them as well as CCTV of their leaving the Pinewood Estate in Killarney in the car later found burned out in Tralee while there was also CCTV of their leaving the scene of where the car was burnt out.
Detective Garda Walsh said he feared that there would be further offences committed if the accused were granted bail, saying that the “the incident before the court today is linked to a wider feud between two Traveller families based in Kerry and Limerick.”
“There have been a large number of incidents committed by both sides and the frequency and the violence associated with these incidents has escalated dramatically over the last number of weeks,” said Det Garda Walsh, adding that Keith Horan had made admissions regarding the arson during interview.
Solicitor Eimear Griffin said that her client was willing to live at an address outside of Kerry if that were acceptable to gardaí but Det Garda Walsh said it would not satisfy gardai, and Judge John King refused bail and remanded Mr Horan in custody to appear at Tralee District Court on Wednesday by video link.
Detective Garda James Daly of Killarney Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Shane Nolan who made no reply to the charges while Detective Garda Claire Dennehy of Tralee Garda Station said David Walsh similarly made no reply after caution when he was charged with the offences.
Both Ms Griffin for Mr Walsh and solicitor Eddie Burke for Mr Nolan said that their clients were not seeking bail at this juncture, and the judge remanded both men in custody to also appear by video link at Tralee District Court on Wednesday and he granted all three accused free legal aid.
