Kneecap case: ‘A woman pointed to a sniggering Móglaí Bap as the magistrate asked if anyone knew an Irish interpreter'
For supporters of Belfast rap trio
Kneecap
it was, as the handwritten sign slapped on the wall of
Westminster
Magistrates Court surmised, a 'grand day out for the parish'.
Hundreds of the band's fans and a noisy legion of pro-Palestinian activists, many of them Irish, waved Tricolours and thronged the front of the court on Wednesday morning in advance of
a hearing in the case
of band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh.
The regular court reporters said they had never witnessed a scene like it. 'It's never been this doolally, not even when they held the
Julian Assange
case here,' said one.
Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged under UK antiterrorism legislation with showing support for a proscribed organisation.
READ MORE
It was alleged he draped himself in a
Hizbullah
flag at a London gig last November and shouted 'up Hamas, up Hizbullah', referring to the Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups respectively.
Ó hAnnaidh did not enter a plea and was released on bail, as the case was adjourned in advance of a hearing on August 20th over the court's jurisdiction to hear the case.
Meanwhile, the crowd outside the court spilt out on to Marylebone Road as musicians and supporters of the rapper set up a makeshift stage at the door for an impromptu gig in the sunshine.
Strains of Aslan's Crazy World and the Waterboys' Fisherman's Blues rolled through the warm air in the streets of the fashionable west London district.
Inside the court building, things were also hotting up. Harried court staff seemed stunned by the size of the crowd that had descended. Journalists jostled for the Willy Wonka golden tickets distributed for seats in the small press area of Court Number 1, where Ó hAnnaidh was due to appear before a magistrate. It was near bedlam.
His case was listed for 10am but it was almost 11am before it got going as court staff wrangled the crowds. Most remained outside the courthouse. A long queue formed outside Court 1 – just 30 would be allowed into the public gallery as reporters wailed for more tickets.
One elderly Irish woman wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh around her neck said she had left home at 3am to get to the airport to fly over.
Film-maker
Jim Sheridan
was among those in the first-floor lobby seeking entry to the hearing. He told The Irish Times that he was a friend of Ó hAnnaidh – 'a lovely lad' – and he was there to defend freedom of speech.
Sinn Féin
Westminster MPs John Finucane and Paul Maskey also showed up. A rumour also went around that veteran musician Paul Weller was outside, but nobody outside the court had actually seen him.
Ó hAnnaidh, dressed in black, and other Kneecap members showed up just after 10am. DJ Próvaí, real name JJ Ó Dochartaigh, had removed his trademark Tricolour balaclava for the occasion. Pro-
Palestine
chants echoed up the stairs from the crowd below.
Ó hAnnaidh sat alone in the dock as the magistrate in the juryless court confirmed his name and address. His legal team, led by barrister Brenda Campbell, suggested to the magistrate that the charge on which Ó hAnnaidh had been brought before the court was a day beyond a six-month statute of limitations. If accepted this would have ended the case on the spot, the magistrate said.
The prosecution, led by Michael Bisgrove, said they would contest that the charge was out of date and a hearing was fixed for August 20th on this issue.
If after that the case still goes ahead, Ó hAnnaidh will enter a plea. If – and he has already indicated publicly that he will fight the charge – he pleads not guilty, then a trial will take place at a later date.
Ó hAnnaidh's legal team indicated that the rapper, whose band performs partly in Irish, might need an Irish interpreter for the trial. The magistrate said the court had so far been unable to find one. 'If anyone knows of one….' he said, his voice trailing off.
A woman in the public gallery could be heard laughing as she pointed at Ó hAnnaidh's bandmates. Kneecap rapper Móglaí Bap, real name Naoise Ó Cairealláin, put his head in his hands and sniggered.
'I think we will manage in English' for the August hearing of legal argument, said Campbell. The magistrate promised to have an Irish interpreter for later hearings and adjourned the case.
There was more bedlam and a crush outside as Ó hAnnaidh and his bandmates emerged from the courthouse.
Watching police stood back as red smoke flares were let off.
After a few words reasserting support for Palestine, Ó hAnnaidh proceeded down the street.
The crowd thinned and plush Marylebone started to get back to normal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Behind the Story: Kneecap court scenes, Iran, and EuroMillions advice!
Westminster Magistrates' Court had never seen a scene like it - that's what one reporter told the Irish Times after a massive crowd turned up to support Kneecap's Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh as he appeared charged under the UK's anti-terror legislation. Tunes were blaring, chants were sung, and there was a bit of humour inside the room after the rapper's legal team suggested he might need an Irish interpreter for his trial. In the latest episode of Behind the Story, RTÉ's man in London, Tommy Meskill, helped Fran McNulty, Katie Hannon and David McCullagh unpack it all. The trio also took a look at Iran, as Donald Trump has proclaimed "I may do it, I may not do it" when asked if the US was going to join Israel in striking the country. As all this happens abroad, there's also the smaller matter of Tuesday's €250 million EuroMillions jackpot, which we now know was sold at a retail outlet in Munster. The trio wade through some of today's articles on the big win, and what newsreader Sharon Tobin might do with all of that money.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Boy (13) uploaded sexual abuse photographs of sister (6) to Discord social media channel
A 13-year-old boy who sexually abused his six-year-old sister, took photographs of her and uploaded 64 images of this child abuse to a social media website will be sentenced later. The court heard that the boy, who is from the south of the country, had unsupervised access to the internet from a very young age and later told gardaí that he first viewed pornography when he was six years old. A local sergeant accepted that the family were very isolated in a rural area. Their father was deceased and the children were no longer attending school. The sergeant told Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, that gardaí were alerted that inappropriate images had been uploaded to the social media platform Discord and the connected account was traced back to the children's home. READ MORE The young girl was instantly identifiable to the gardaí as the subject of the images that had been uploaded. The now 16-year-old, who is currently in a residential treatment centre for minors who sexually offend, came forward to the Central Criminal Court on signed pleas. He pleaded guilty to six incidences of oral rape, nine charges of production of what is legally termed as child pornography and five charges of distribution of that material on dates between June 2022 and December 2022. The sergeant accepted that the teenager had unrestricted internet access from the age of five years old and agreed that he was manipulated by others online to post these photographs. Ms Brennan read into the record a victim impact statement that had been prepared by the now eight-year-old girl. The girl said she 'feels much happier' now and that the foster family, with whom she has been living since the gardaí called to her home in December 2022, 'feels like home'. 'When I think about him I feel a bit scared,' the girl continued. She said she would really like her brother to write her a letter of apology because she said when people do bad things they 'say sorry'. The girl said she told her mother 'when it first happened' but Ms Brennan said 'no action was taken'. Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring noted the child has no control over when and where the images of her may appear again on the internet. The judge said as the girl gets older, she will realise that she is 'out there for others like her brother to get sexual gratification from seeing her abused'. Ms Justice Ring said these are the long term impacts for her, which she said the child is hopefully unaware of at the moment as an eight-year-old girl. The judge said she had 'a huge set of reports' in relation to the accused but only a paragraph, the victim impact statement, in relation to 'the other child who also has rights'. Ms Justice Ring said she wanted further information as to how the abuse has impacted the girl, asking the investigating sergeant to speak to others – like her care worker – that may be able to provide more information to the court. Ms Justice Ring said there are other impacts, that the child as an eight-year-old may not be aware of and said she wanted further information. She adjourned the case to July 21st to allow for further reports. 'What you have done is horrendous,' Ms Justice Ring said addressing the 16-year-old. 'If you were an adult you would be going out that door- that is the custody door. You need to be conscious of the jeopardy you are in the moment.'
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Man pleads guilty in dark web firearms charge
One of three Co Wicklow men arrested following the discovery of two firearms purchased off the dark web has pleaded guilty to possessing one of the weapons. Daniel Quinn Burke, whose address was given as Allendale Lawn, Baltinglass, appeared before Naas Circuit Court on Wednesday along with Shane Kinsella, whose address was given as Tynock, Kiltegan. Mr Quinn Burke, previously described as an apprentice mechanic, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm, a Remington semi-automatic pistol on March 2nd, 2024, at Ponsonby Bridge, near Straffan, Co Kildare . Defending barrister Aisling Murphy told Judge Elva Duffy that the defendant, aged 22, had not been in court before. READ MORE Barrister Mark Gibbons, representing Mr Kinsella, asked that the case against his client be adjourned 'for mention or progress'. Mr Kinsella did not address the court. The judge said she would seek a probation report on behalf of Mr Quinn Burke, who was remanded on continuing bail. His case was adjourned to October 7th. The case against Mr Kinsella was adjourned to July 18th. At an initial hearing at Naas District Court on March 4th, 2024, it was alleged that officers attached to the Garda National Organised Crime Bureau and the Emergency Response Unit performed a controlled stop of a vehicle at Ponsonby Bridge. A third man, Evan Fitzgerald , then 21, a steel company worker, whose address was given as Portrushen, Kiltegan, died in a shooting incident at a Carlow shopping centre on June 1st. Mr Kinsella, described as a student, was then aged 20. The trio were charged following the discovery of a Heckler & Koch rifle, a Remington Rand semi-automatic pistol and a total of 42 rounds of ammunition. [ Garda inquiry into Evan Fitzgerald followed tip-off about Irish person trying to buy guns on darknet Opens in new window ] At the District Court hearing before Judge Desmond Zaidan, Det Gda Gavin Curran said he believed the items found were not destined for use by organised criminals and he believed that the guns and bullets were to be used for shooting purposes in a wooded area. The garda said the value of the firearms was in the region of €2,700 and were bought on the Darknet. Referring to Evan Fitzgerald, he said the defendant has a fascination with firearms and 'it's more of an interest or a hobby' rather than for 'nefarious purposes'. The court was also told that the weapons and ammunition were delivered by face-to-face delivery. The garda said the defendants are lifelong friends. The arrests were part of an operation to combat firearms trafficking.
