Three men behind plot to bomb Galway mosque jailed

Three men who were part of a self-styled terrorist organisation that planned to blow up a mosque in Galway last year have been jailed at the Special Criminal Court as the presiding judge told them they have "brought shame on us all."

36-year-old Garrett Pollock of Kilhorne Greene, Annalong, Co Down was sentenced to ten and a half years with the last year suspended.

34-year-old Darren Gorman of O'Moore Place in Portlaoise was sentenced eight years with the last year suspended and 39-year-old Karolis Peckauskas with an address at Newfoundwell Road, Drogheda, Co Louth was sentenced to eight years in prison with the last year suspended.

All three pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in a terrorist activity, to firebomb the Maryam Mosque on the Monivea Road in Galway between 4 and 5 November 2025, an offence aggravated by hatred.

Pollock also pleaded guilty to possession of an explosive substance which was found in four glass jars concealed in a hidden drawer in his van on 4 November 2025.

The three also threatened to attack anyone involved in mosques, IPAS centres, hotels and other accommodation for people seeking international protection.

They were part of the self-style Irish Defence Army, which detective inspector Alan Devitt of the Special Detective Unit outlined to the court was a violent right wing extremist group, a splinter of the online Irish Citizens Army which communicated on the messaging app Signal.

Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said today that modern Ireland is a multicultural and diverse country and that the actions of this group bring shame on all of us.

It was, she said, attempted arson with a terrorising message to be spread worldwide.

They seem to have taken a view, she said, that that some immigrants are welcome and some are not and this group will decide who stays.

The men were part of a right-wing terrorist group with the method and intent to attack immigrants in Ireland and all members of the group played important roles in the bomb plot.

She also said it was clear this was to be the first of many attacks and everyone was to get trained up in making the bombs.

Men filmed video taking responsibility for attack

The group had a crest, a manifesto and the men had filmed the video on Garrett Pollock's phone in Darren Gorman's kitchen in Portlaoise.

The men also filmed themselves taking responsibility for the attack before it had taken place.

The video which was seized by Gardai and shown in court, showed four masked men in tactical gear in front of the Irish flag.

The men threatened that their targets could include women "if deemed a threat to our loved ones" and warned that the attack in Galway would not be the last they would carry out.

They said they would like "to take responsibility for destruction of first mosque introduced into our great country in Galway".

They claimed "women, children and the elderly had been left cold, hungry and under threat due to the number of immigrants" and issued what they called "a stern warning" that the attack would not be the last.

"These attacks will apply to anyone who helps facilitate the erection of Ipas centres, mosques, hotels and accommodation as well as the Irish responsible for allowing it to happen," the video said, "this is to be taken as a stern warning."

The men also spoke of "countless dangers of radicalised immigrants that have flooded this country" and urged other people north and south of the border to "step up and join us in this fight" and "become a soldiers of the IDA."

The men can be seen rehearsing and repeating lines during the video and afterwards they chatted and laughed and took off their balaclavas so their faces could be seen on the footage.

The video was to be sent to RTÉ, TG4 and local newspapers.

Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said today the video "was not the stuff of pantomime, the message sinister and menacing, the tone was threatening."

Garrett Pollock had driven to Drogheda in his van on Tuesday 4 November 2025 and met up with Peckhauskas who drove them both to Gorman's house in Portlaoise.

They were stopped by chance later that night and arrested by the Laois drugs unit.

Group planned the use of 'Molotov cocktails' and pipe bombs

Gardai seized cable ties, hatchets, knives, masks, 5 litres of chemicals which were found to be a precursor to volatile explosives and could be used in pipe bombs.

They also found sunglasses, balaclavas, can of sealing putty and an Irish flag.

Knives were found on Pollock and Peckauskas and Gorman told the Gardaí after they were arrested outside his house that he knew the two men and they were "alright."

The Gardaí did not know when the attack was due to take place but that the men had planned to used improvised incendiary devices known as "Molotov cocktails" and pipe bombs.

Pollock later told them "we've done nothing yet."

The men had a messaging group on Signal called "Shadows of Eire".

Pollock was "Slua", Peckauskas was "Q" and Gorman was "dagger", with an insignia and an oath of allegiance.

The ideology of the so-called Irish Defence Association was violent anti-immigration with evidence on the messaging app of attack planning, discussions on the construction of devices and a video in which a petrol bomb is lit and thrown.

The men played diff roles in the organisation including sourcing vehicles, clothing, finances, making explosives and carrying out surveillance on an IPAS centre before the mosque was considered a good target.

They initially planned to use petrol bombs but then decided to use pipe bombs because they believed these would cause greater damage and make a bigger public statement.

Entry and exit points were identified, a plan was worked out whereby two men with sledgehammers would break the windows while two others would throw pipe bombs in before the gates were smashed open with the sledgehammers and they made their escape.

The sledgehammers would be burned along with the car.

"They need to see that we mean business," Garrett Pollock said.

Pollock who is 36 and lives in Newry has 19 previous, convictions, mainly for road traffic offences but one for resisting and obstructing the PSNI.

He devised the name of the IDA, composed the oath and the public statement, designed the crest and was the administrator of the Signal messaging group.

He had a manual for explosive devices, held four devices in his van and had built another one.

He also had rank conferred upon him and two knives taken from him

He accepted the black Nike bag with hatchets and a lump hammer was his, admitted having made and tested an incendiary device and sent the group a video of this, admitted he was slua and wrote the priority list for attack in his own hand.

34-year-old Darren Gorman reported to Pollock. He has 6 previous road traffic convictions and that his role was to provide a premises for the video statement which was filmed in his kitchen.

He also sourced a precursor chemical, bought clothing, contributed money to a common fund for equipment for the attack and conducted surveillance on an IPAS centre in Portlaoise as potential target.

Gardaí seized 53 items from his home including balaclavas, tactical gear and the Irish flag placed in video.

Karolis Peckauskas is a Lithuanian national who has been living in Drogheda since 2020. He previously lived in Sweden and Norway and has no previous convictions.

He owned and drove the BMW car to bring group together and was involved in setting up the identity of the organisation with Pollock. He engaged in the construction of incendiary devices and made admissions to Gardaí.

When he received detailed instructions on how to construct and what was needed for pipe bombs he replied, "I'm ok to learn it".

His defence counsel said he was divorced with two children in Lithuania and a fiancé here. He was effectively a father to her 17-year-old son.

He said he had been radicalised on social media during Covid and that videos on TikTok led him to Telegram and his senior counsel Morgan Shelly said he was affected by conspiracy theories.

He said he cares deeply about Ireland, his adapted country, he wanted to be accepted here and went down a misplaced extreme path.

"He is an immigrant himself," he said and realises "the absurdity of the situation he has found himself in."

Peckauskas apoligised to the mosque going community in Ireland who must have been deeply traumatised by the incident.

Pollock also apologised and wrote a letter to the court expressing his remorse and shame for his actions.

His defence counsel said the 36-year-old father of three had also been "radicalised" online after he began misusing alcohol and cocaine and spending hours and hours online.

He worked as a gym instructor and consumed fitness and radicalised content about the threats of immigrants to the wider community which was "emotive, ill-informed and AI generated."

He made contact with a ground and was invited into smaller groups where he "found comrades", a sense of belonging and being wanted, but became radicalised very quickly and wanted to show them all he was committed.

The view of the doctor who assessed him was that Pollock wasn't committed due to any robust ideological principle but that his actions were taken in the context of emotional dysfunction, low self-esteem and isolation.

The court was also told that mens' health fitness material coming through online also attracts nationalist material to which Garret Pollock was susceptible.

Darren Gorman's defence counsel told the court that his psychological report highlights extremes of submissiveness and vulnerability, that he was a drug user and addict and also had certain mental health issues.

He had no history of violence, hatred or terrorism and the most important thing to him was his four children.

Group had 'no respect for rule of law' - judge

"The principle of general deterrence must feature strongly in these circumstances," Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said.

"The arson attack was prevented by good Garda work, not through any lack of effort by the accused.

"There are no passive members of this group in this case," she said.

This she said was an organised gang with a recognised hierarchy attacking a place of prayer and peace. It was an offence that involved careful planning, testing incendiary devices and ingredients for pipe bombs.

"These devices can cause irrevocable damage," she said.

"They went down rabbit holes but chose to do so," the judge said, "there was no duress, they were not coerced. This group had no respect for rule of law and decided to take law into own hands. They all now accept there was no enemy, no reason to target this group."

"Each of these men had in front of their noses a community available to them." the judge said, "friends, family and perhaps most important children. They all have children and they now carry the burden of the damage done to those children."

"What was intended were acts of hooliganism and thuggery for status. This was not born out of patriotism."