Man pleads guilty to attack on garda, McGregor pub arson
A 24-year-old man has pleaded guilty to assault, arson and terrorist offences following an attack on two gardaí in Dublin city centre last July and an attempt to burn out Conor McGregor's pub in Drimnagh four days earlier.
Abdullah Khan, whose address cannot be published because of a court order, pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to eight charges, two of which are terrorist offences.
The two gardaí were on a high visibility patrol in Capel Street in Dublin at 6pm on 29 July last year when Abdullah Khan ran up from behind and attacked them with a knife.
The gardaí defended themselves and used protective equipment including batons and pepper spray to subdue him before he was arrested.
Today, the 24-year-old pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to six charges in connection with the attack.
He admitted producing a knife, assaulting the two gardaí, Garda Gary Lynch and Garda Patrick Nevin, and engaging in conduct which risked causing serious harm or death to the two gardaí.
Abdullah Khan admitted committing arson at the Black Forge
He also pleaded guilty to one terrorist offence in connection with the attack on 29 July 2025.
Abdullah Khan also admitted to carrying out an arson attack at Conor McGregor's pub in Dublin which had been damaged by fire four days earlier.
He also pleaded guilty to a second terrorist charge in connection with the arson attack at the Black Forge Inn in Drimnagh on 25 July 2025.
Khan stood in the dock at the Special Criminal Court today and confirmed his identity before replying "guilty" to each of the eight charges as they were read out to him.
His defence counsel Michael Bowman said Khan comes from a "pro social" family and has no previous convictions.
Presiding judge Ms Justice Karen O' Connor remanded the 24-year-old in custody for sentencing in March.
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.
