Four men have appeared in court in the midlands, charged over an alleged plot by a violent right-wing extremist group to attack a mosque in Galway.
At Portlaoise District Court, Judge Andrew Cody said he was satisfied from the evidence in court today that the threats are real and intended.
Darren Gorman, aged 33, with an address at O'Moore Place, Portlaoise, and 36-year-old Charles Flynn with an address at Castlerock Avenue, Castleconnell, Limerick, face a charge of attempting to engage in a terrorist activity or a terrorist-linked activity.
The charge alleges the men were plotting to set fire to the Maryam Mosque on Monivea Road in Galway.
Garrett Pollock, aged 35, with an address at Kilhorne Greene, Annalong, Co Down, and Karolis Peckauskas, 39, of Newfoundwell Road, Drogheda, Co Louth, also appeared in court today.
They face the charge of attempting to engage in a terrorist activity or a terrorist-linked activity.
Mr Pollock and Mr Peckauskas also face other charges for possession of explosives, hatchets, a knife and a knuckle duster with intent to incapacitate or intimidate.
The explosives, including four threaded pipe end caps and five bottles of hydrogen peroxide, were discovered by gardaí during a search of a car at O'Moore Place in Portlaoise, Co Laois, on 4 November 2025.
The vehicle was allegedly owned by Mr Peckauskas, the court heard, and it was alleged that Mr Pollock was in the car.
A manifesto was recovered from the boot of the car outlining the intent to commit a terrorist offence, and a black balaclava was also recovered, which it is alleged had the DNA of Mr Gorman.
Three of the four men, Mr Pollock, Mr Gorman and Mr Flynn, applied for bail.
Gardaí objected based on the seriousness of the charges and their belief that the men are an obvious threat to the State and could plan further terror attacks.
During bail hearings for three of the accused, the court heard how the men, who claimed to be members of a group called the Irish Defence Army, were involved in a plan to attack a mosque in Galway.
A video recovered from the phone of Mr Pollock, which gardaí said was recorded at O'Moore Place in Portlaoise at around 9pm on 4 November 2025, was played to the court.
The video showed four masked men dressed in black with a tricolour behind them. It was alleged in court that the video was recorded in Mr Gorman's kitchen.
The men spoke of attacking what they called "Ireland's first mosque" in Galway and of their intention to carry out further attacks on other mosques, IPAS centres and anyone who assists and supports them.
In the video, the men said they were "taking a moment to speak honestly and directly recognising that everyone in the country had enough of the poor treatment, particularly children, women and the elderly who have been left homeless, starving, cold, and under threat due to the number of migrants that have been brought into the country by the Government".
They described this as a threat to "our sovereignty and could potentially be a hostile takeover".
They went on to say they "accept responsibility for the actions that has resulted in the destruction of the first mosque that was introduced in Ireland in Co Galway".
They also said this will "not be their last attack" and described their philosophy as an "eye for an eye".
In a written decision, Judge Cody said it was apparent the video was a practice of a statement to be released subsequent to a successful terrorist attack.
He said after hearing the evidence from gardaí today and taking into account the seriousness of the charges, he was refusing bail.
Towards the end of the video, the men remove the balaclavas, and Judge Cody said he was satisfied that the gardaí's opinion that the three accused appear in the video is well-founded.
Judge Cody said the overriding issue in the case is the nature and likelihood of any danger to life or personal safety or danger to the community that may be presented by the release on bail of the three accused.
He said the video played in court indicated the group is intent on causing substantial damage and injury to mosques, IPAS centres and anyone who assists or supports them.
Judge Cody said after viewing the video several times, he is satisfied the threats are real and intended.
He refused bail and remanded the three accused in custody to appear before Portlaoise District Court on 23 March via video-link.
Mr Peckauskas, who did not apply for bail, was also remanded in custody until 23 March.
Judge Cody put reporting restrictions around the naming of any garda involved in the investigation and said that his written decision could be reported on by the media.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
