Right-wing Irish Defence Army foiled in plot to bomb Galway mosque, members plead guilty
The Special Criminal Court heard that the Irish Defence Army attempted to smash a Galway mosque with sledgehammers and pipe bombs, but Gardaí stopped the plan and the three defendants have pleaded guilty.
In a hearing before the Special Criminal Court, prosecutors detailed a plot by the Irish Defence Army, a right-wing extremist offshoot of the Irish Citizens Army formed in October 2025, to damage the Maryam Mosque in Galway using sledgehammers and pipe bombs. Gardaí from a drug unit stopped two members in a car, noting nervous behavior, and seized written oaths, a crest, a manifesto and materials for improvised explosive devices, including peroxide and pipe-cap ends.
Further searches uncovered a hidden drawer with four IEDs and a video in which the group warned of future attacks. The defendants - Karolis Peckauskas (39), Darren Gorman (34) and Garrett Pollack (36) - pleaded guilty to attempting terrorist activity, with Pollack also pleading guilty to possessing an explosive substance. Detectives described the group’s anti-immigration ideology and its plan to target mosques, accommodation providers for asylum seekers and estate agents, while excluding women and children except in specific threats. Their legal representatives will present mitigation pleas in upcoming hearings.
Why it matters
The case shows a domestic right-wing terrorist threat targeting religious sites and vulnerable communities in Ireland.
In this story
