{"id":672954,"date":"2026-11-02T19:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T19:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/672954\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T19:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T19:40:12","slug":"man-jailed-for-knife-attack-on-gardai-and-setting-conor-mcgregors-pub-on-fire-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/672954\/","title":{"rendered":"Man jailed for knife attack on garda\u00ed and setting Conor McGregor\u2019s pub on fire \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abdullah Khan has been jailed for 6\u00bd years for setting fire to a pub owned by Conor McGregor<\/a> and attacking two garda\u00ed<\/a> with a knife on a Dublin<\/a> street. <\/p>\n

Judge Karen O\u2019Connor, presiding at the three-judge Special Criminal Court<\/a>, imposed strict post-release conditions requiring Khan (24) to engage with the probation services for four years after he has served his sentence. <\/p>\n

The judge noted a report stating that the primary objective of Khan\u2019s probation is to support him to disengage from people involved in radical behaviours and ideologies. His post-release supervision, she said, is deemed necessary to ensure public protection.<\/p>\n

Khan, a self-described jihadi, was sentenced for eight separate offences, with each sentence to run concurrently. <\/p>\n

On a charge that he engaged in terrorist activity by setting fire to the Black Forge Inn, Drimnagh Road, Dublin 12, she imposed a sentence of 7\u00bd years, with the final year suspended for four years. The maximum penalty for arson is life imprisonment.<\/p>\n

The court imposed sentences of between four and six years for the other offences, including a knife attack that left a garda with two stab wounds to his right arm. The court heard the garda required surgery, is undergoing ongoing therapy and is unsure if he can return to frontline policing.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor said a report drawn up by Prof Paul Gill, a specialist in terrorism and security studies, indicated that Khan acted on behalf of the Salafi jihadi cause. She said this sect elevates armed struggle to a primary religious duty, with an individual rather than collective obligation to act.<\/p>\n

She said all Khan\u2019s offending was premeditated and planned and he had inflicted harm on his garda victim. The fact the victim was a member of An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na was a \u201csignificant aggravating factor,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor said it was a pleasant, sunny evening in Dublin and people were strolling around their city when Khan attacked the garda from behind, giving him no opportunity to defend himself. <\/p>\n

Khan made repeated attempts to stab a second garda who was on patrol with the first victim despite repeated warnings to desist.<\/p>\n

The judge described the garda\u00ed as \u201cprofessional and courageous\u201d in disarming Khan and keeping the public safe. She also commended the bravery of a member of the public who took the knife from Khan\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor said the court had wanted a psychological or psychiatric report to assess the risk that Khan might reoffend. However, she said he was \u201csteadfast in his refusal to engage\u201d and therefore no risk assessment was available. In imposing the four-year period of post-release supervision, she said Khan must attend all appointments and follow all directions from the probation service.<\/p>\n

He will live at an agreed address and make his home available for visits by his probation officer. He cannot travel outside the jurisdiction without prior approval from garda\u00ed and must make no contact with anyone engaged in extremist behaviour.<\/p>\n

He is not allowed to possess a knife or other weapons outside his home or incendiary devices or fire accelerants. He cannot engage in any terrorist activity or make public statements or raise funds in support of terrorism. <\/p>\n

He also cannot attend rallies or other gatherings \u201cother than those for worship\u201d without prior approval. He must only attend places of worship that have been agreed with the probation service.<\/p>\n

The judge said any failure by Khan to abide by the conditions of his probation would result in incarceration. <\/p>\n

Khan, with an address in Dublin that cannot be published due to a court order, was charged that on July 25th, 2025, at the Black Forge Inn, he committed arson by pouring petrol on the front door of the pub and lighting it with a match.<\/p>\n

He was further charged that on July 29th, 2025, at Capel Street, he assaulted Garda Gary Lynch causing him harm and attempted to assault Garda Patrick Nevin. He was further charged with producing a knife during the same incident and two counts of endangerment. <\/p>\n

Khan was also charged with two counts of engaging in terrorist activity or terrorist-linked activity on the dates of each offence. He pleaded guilty to all offences. <\/p>\n

When the case came before the court in April, Det Insp Gavin Ross told Gerardine Small, prosecuting, that Khan was part of a wider group of like-minded radicals.<\/p>\n

In his Garda interviews, Khan said he started listening to people like Islamic State leader Musab al-Zarqawi online at age 18 and his beliefs progressed in his early 20s.<\/p>\n

Khan referenced the four core principles of Salafi, including a rejection of man-made laws and the ability to declare those who do not follow the religion to be apostates and legitimate targets. His beliefs removed prohibitions on attacking members of the security forces in any country where the State does not follow a literal interpretation of the Koran, the inspector said.<\/p>\n

Det Insp Ross said that when it became more difficult to visit Islamic State, also known as Isis, territory in Iraq and Syria, the leaders of the movement declared that individuals could take responsibility for their own jihad wherever they lived. <\/p>\n

During his garda interviews, Khan declared his support for Isis ideology, saying he had a love for them and had pledged his allegiance to the organisation.<\/p>\n

When asked for the motivation behind his crimes, Khan said he wanted to send a message to McGregor and others with a \u201cright-wing mindset\u201d not to insult the prophet Muhammed. He said he was angry that the State allowed people to insult the prophet and attacked the garda to show his anger and make his protest known.<\/p>\n

He described such insults as \u201coutrageous and unacceptable\u201d and said they made him sad and angry. He said McGregor had helped the \u201cfar right\u201d to grow in Ireland so he held him responsible for the insults.<\/p>\n

He said he wanted McGregor to know that he was \u201cplaying dangerous games\u201d, adding: \u201cWhen it comes to the prophet, we don\u2019t see it as a matter of freedom of speech.\u201d <\/p>\n

When he attacked Lynch, he said he did not expect his victim to die, but he wanted to \u201cinjure him to make the point\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a message to the Irish government that if, under the name of free speech, you insult our prophet, there will be people who are angry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abdullah Khan has been jailed for 6\u00bd years for setting fire to a pub owned by Conor McGregor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[45,1714,615,42,43,31297,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-672954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-conor-mcgregor","tag-dublin","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-special-criminal-court","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}