Three men who admitted to plotting to blow up a mosque in Galway last year have issued further threats to attack anyone involved in mosques and accommodation for people seeking international protection, the court has heard.
35 year old Garrett Pollock, 34 year old Darren Gorman and 39 year old Karolis Peckauskas have pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in a terrorist activity. The pair admitted to planning to damage the Maryam Mosque on the Monivea Road in Galway by fire between 4-5 November 2025.
Prior to the incident, the men filmed a video admitting responsibility and issuing threats of further violence. They warned the Galway attack would not be an isolated event and claimed women could be targeted if deemed a threat to their families.
Pollock also pleaded guilty in court on Monday to possession of explosive substances which was found in four glass jars concealed in a hidden drawer in his van on 4th November 2025.
According to RTE, the sentencing hearing has been adjourned until next Friday when pleas of mitigation will be heard on behalf of Gorman and Pollock.
The court heard yesterday that the three men were members of a self-styled Irish defence army, which Garda Detective Inspector Alan Devitt of the Special Detective Unit told RTE was a "violent, right-wing extremist group, a splinter of the online Irish citizens' army" which communicated on the messaging app Signal.
Court heard that the men had established a crest and manifesto, and had pre-recorded a video on Pollock’s phone inside Gorman’s Portlaoise kitchen.
Staged in front of an Irish flag, the clip showed four masked individuals in tactical gear taking responsibility for the attack in the past tense.
The men said that they would like to "to take responsibility for destruction of first mosque introduced into our great country in Galway".
They claimed that "women, children and the elderly had been left cold, hungry and under threat due to the number of immigrants" and issued a warning that the attack would not be the last, RTE reported.
"These attacks will apply to anyone who helps facilitate the erection of Ipas centres, mosques, hotels and accommodation aswell as the Irish responsible for allowing it to happen. This is to be taken as a stern warning," they stated in the video.
Pollock earlier drove to Drogheda to collect Peckauskas before the pair travelled to Gorman’s house in Portlaoise.
Later that evening, the Laois drugs unit intercepted the men during a routine stop and arrested them. Search operations uncovered an Irish flag, balaclavas, sunglasses, cable ties, hatchets, knives, masks, sealing putty, and five litres of precursor chemicals capable of making volatile pipe bomb explosives.
Peckauskas is a Lithuanian national and has been living in Drogheda since 2020.
He used his BMW car to bring the group together and co-founded the organization's identity alongside Pollock.
In addition to making full admissions to gardaí, he helped construct incendiary devices and responded "I'm ok to learn it" upon receiving detailed instructions for building pipe bombs.
His defence counsel noted he is a divorced father of two from Lithuania with a fiancée in Ireland, acting as a father figure to her 17-year-old son. The court heard he was radicalized on social media during the Covid pandemic, moving from TikTok content to Telegram groups.
According to RTE, Senior counsel Morgan Shelly said he was affected by conspiracy theories and that he cares deeply about Ireland and wants to be accepted.
"He is an immigrant himself, and realises the absurdity of the situation he has found himself in," Shelly said.
