Members of a violent and extreme far-right group were “laughing and joking” as they rehearsed a video statement they planned to release after an attack on Galway Mosque, a court has heard.
The attack was “imminent” before gardaí intervened, Portlaoise District Court heard. Gardaí based that opinion on items they seized as two alleged members of the so-called Irish Defence Army were arrested last week, the court was told. The items seized included alleged components for explosive devices and documents.
The claims emerged on Thursday afternoon after one of the arrested men – Karolis Peckauskas (38) of Newfoundwell Road, Drogheda, Co Louth – applied for bail at Portlaoise District Court.
The Lithuania national, who works as a security guard and is a stepfather, was arrested in Portlaoise on the night of Tuesday, November 4th.
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Mr Peckauskas faces one charge of knowingly having in “his possession an explosive substance” at O’Moore Place, Portlaoise. It is alleged he had four threaded pipe end caps and six litres of hydrogen peroxide in suspicious circumstances.
Judge Andrew Cody was told in court on Thursday that Mr Peckauskas had lived in Ireland since 2006 and that his father had lived in the Republic for about 30 years and was now an Irish citizen. The accused man lives in Drogheda, Co Louth, with his fiancee, a Latvian woman who has been in Ireland for 20 years.
Det Garda Joe Fahy, based in Portlaoise, told the court Mr Peckauskas had strong links to Lithuania, where he had friends and family, and may not remain in Ireland to face the charge if he were granted bail.
There were also concerns the accused man may engage in further crimes and pose a threat to public safety. The detective added that the charge Mr Peckauskas was facing was a serious one, carrying a jail term of up to 14 years.
Niall Storan BL, for Mr Peckauskas, objected to a video seized by gardaí during the arrest and search operation on the night of November 4th being admitted as evidence in the bail hearing.
However, Judge Cody did not agree and ordered the court be cleared so he could view the video. He said the footage showed four masked men and described as “well-founded” the Garda’s suspicion that one of those men was Mr Peckauskas.
Judge Cody said given the men in the video were “laughing and joking”, it seemed clear to him they were making a “practice” recording before filming a second video to be released after an attack on Galway Mosque.
Judy Cody added the men in the video read from a statement claiming Irish people were enduring “poor treatment” by the Government, including around housing and other welfare measures. They blamed this on the number of migrants coming into the country.
In the video, the men also explained the attack on Galway Mosque – which was allegedly in the planning before gardaí intervened – was the work of the extreme far-right group called the IDA, or Irish Defence Army, and would be followed by others targeting migrants.
As he gave his evidence and objected to bail, Det Fahy’s assertions were challenged by Mr Storan, including how he concluded four threaded pipe ends and six bottles of hydrogen peroxide allegedly found in his client’s car were intended for the construction of an explosive device.
The Garda evidence was that such items were previously used in the construction of improvised explosive devices. The Garda witnesses – Det Fahy and Sgt JJ Kirby – also told the court documents seized last week when Mr Peckauskas was arrested included “intent to attack a mosque” and that an attack on the mosque, in Galway, was “imminent” at that time.
The court was also told the threaded pipe caps and six 1-litre bottles of hydrogen peroxide were found on the night of November 4th in a vehicle at O’Moore Place, Portlaoise, and that the vehicle was registered to Mr Peckauskas and was being driven by him.
Judge Cody refused the application for bail and remanded Mr Peckauskas in custody to appear before the court again on December 11th.
