Ireland’s first jihadist attack officially confirmed by gardaí in EU terror report

Waterford chaplain Fr Paul Murphy narrowly escaped with his life when a 16-year-old attacker repeatedly stabbed him with an eight-inch hunting knife. Picture Collins Courts

An Garda Síochána has officially reported Ireland’s first confirmed jihadist attack to the EU, citing the attempted murder of a Defence Forces chaplain by a radicalised teenager in August 2024.

The knife attack in Galway formed part of a notable rise in Islamist-inspired assaults across the EU last year.