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Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
The millionaire Marxist who became a political problem for the BBC
Sally Rooney once argued that writers have more influence than they deserve. 'Novelists are given too much cultural prominence,' she said in an interview with The New Yorker in 2018. 'I know you could point out they're really not given a lot of prominence but… it's still too much.' And yet, surely, a prominent voice and an outsized cultural heft were exactly what Rooney was banking on when she wrote a piece in The Irish Times last weekend saying that she would be using funds generated by the sale of her books and their BBC adaptations to support Palestine Action, which has been proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK. 'If the British state considers this 'terrorism', then perhaps it should investigate the shady organisations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WHSmith and the BBC,' was one of the 34-year-old's many controversial lines. A self-proclaimed Marxist, Rooney has frequently been outspoken on abortion rights, housing reform and climate change. But it is her stance on Palestine that has garnered the most coverage. In 2021 she made headlines around the world after rejecting an offer from an Israeli publisher to translate her third book, Beautiful World, Where Are You, into Hebrew (despite the company already having translated her first two) owing to her views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Until now, the Ireland-based author's interventions have not hindered her career. But given the immediate backlash to her most recent pronouncement – which means she could now face legal proceedings should she travel to the UK – has she finally overstepped the mark? Some certainly appear to think so. The Campaign Against Antisemitism has denounced Rooney's actions as 'utterly indefensible', accusing her of clearly stating her intent to channel money 'towards a group that… terrorised the Jewish community'. 'Platforms and publishers profiting from her work must urgently review their relationship with her, as they now risk enabling the flow of funds to a terrorist organisation,' the group said in a statement earlier this week, adding that it intended to pursue private prosecution if the pro-Palestinian writer travels to Britain and authorities fail to take action of their own. For those connected to her work, Rooney's stance clearly presents something of a conundrum. On the one hand, she is one of the most revered and most profitable novelists of her generation, and the darling of the Left-leaning publishing scene – on the other, alienating a significant proportion of the market is rarely a move any finance department favours. One publishing insider says Rooney's agents' 'hearts will be sinking'. A top London literary agent goes further still: 'If an author wrote a piece saying they were planning to fund Hamas, we would be appalled. This is a ridiculous state of affairs. I have had authors who have turned down prizes because they disagree with the sponsors, but I have never heard of a situation where someone is actively supporting an illegal organisation – she's implicating a lot of people without realising it.' The agent believes Rooney's British publishing house, Faber & Faber, will be forced to make a statement. 'I imagine they will want to take an agnostic view on this, as it is a no-win for them. If they support this, there may be legal issues, but if they say nothing, they are allowing it to be unchallenged that they are taking money… and giving it to someone funding an outlawed organisation.' Rooney's net worth is reported to total at least £10m, owing to her runaway success in recent years. At just 24 – then a Trinity College Dublin graduate and European champion debater – she was taken on by the prestigious Wylie Agency and over the past decade she has been lauded with a string of awards. In the UK and Ireland alone she has sold more than six million copies of her four novels, Conversations with Friends, Normal People, Beautiful World, Where Are You and Intermezzo, which have been translated into 40 languages and adapted into some of the 2020s' most beloved television shows. In other words:Rooney may be a Marxist, but she is also thought to be one of the richest young writers in the world. Today she still lives in the west of Ireland, a few miles from where she grew up, and remains close to her parents. Both are committed socialists, and Rooney has spoken about how she worries that her own dazzling career borders on the frivolous. 'There is a part of me that will never be happy knowing that I am just writing entertainment, making decorative aesthetic objects at a time of historical crisis,' she once told the Irish Independent. 'But I am not good at anything else.' Perhaps that sense of concern has motivated her forays into hot-button issues. Whatever her motivations, at home, Rooney's stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict is a popular one: Ireland is – by and large – very pro-Palestine (and has not proscribed Palestine Action). But in the UK and the US, where her major publishing houses are based, she is causing problems not only for herself but for people associated with her work. This includes editors and producers, and may yet see A-list actors such as Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, who had break-out roles in the BBC adaption of Normal People, drawn into the controversy. Like Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe from the Harry Potter franchise – who stood against JK Rowling and her stance on the trans debate – they can be expected to face uncomfortable questions about where they themselves stand on this subject in the days to come. As for her relationships within the industry, Rooney will receive a lot of support in part because of her sales record. 'If Sally Rooney were a failure then the question would be different,' says literary agent David Godwin. 'But publishing houses, like all businesses, are always tinged with self-interest – they're shameless in many ways, and she sells so many copies. I can't imagine a situation where they wouldn't publish her. That gives her a lot of freedom.' Still, he agrees that most executives would prefer her not to be quite so open about her beliefs. ' When it comes to Palestine, publishers are much more frightened these days,' he says, 'and they are more inclined to stay far away from controversy. Publishing was once very individualistic and authors were left to say what they wanted, but things are more corporate now and people are conscious of what could create a backlash.' Equally, others note that Rooney isn't the most profitable writer on the circuit – and that she can't always expect unwavering support from publishers. 'She sells a lot of books, but she's not the biggest author out there,' says another literary insider. 'She's the biggest author for Faber, and she's culturally significant, but there are many authors in front of her in terms of sales. Richard Osman sells far more books than she does.' More than the response from readers (one agent claims most of her fans will already be aware of her beliefs and so are unlikely to suddenly stop buying her books), her editors will be concerned about Rooney's ability to promote future works. 'I would be worried about whether she would be able to travel to the UK easily,' says one. 'A book tour is an essential way of getting sales up – can she legally come here now?' And then there is the question of America, where entering the top 10 means earning millions of dollars but where the debate over the future of Israel is even more fraught than it is in Britain. Jessa Crispin, a US-based author and the editor-in-chief of the literary webzine Bookslut, says Rooney may ultimately emerge unscathed. 'Sally Rooney is one of the few writers who sells enough worldwide to have a real power to make a stand within publishing,' she says. 'She makes her publisher a lot of money, it seems, so if she doesn't want to be published in Israel or translated into Hebrew, they will want to go along with that to keep her happy.' And luckily for Rooney, the publishing industry on both sides of the Atlantic tends to be far more Left-leaning than the general public. 'I think her readership is probably with her,' says Christian Lorentzen, a US-based writer and critic. 'I think she's brave and admirable and righteous on this question, and it might even increase her sales, but I do not think at all that she's acting cynically. She's an idealist and it's to her credit.' Television and film, however, is a different story. For authors, that's where the real money usually lies – and Rooney must be aware that Hollywood takes a stronger view on this debate than most booksellers. 'The likes of Netflix and other corporate people will evaluate the risk versus the reward of working with her from now on,' says Mark Borkowski, a British PR executive and author with an interest in reputation and crisis management. 'By doing this she sacrifices a lot of potential relationships in Hollywood – which is very supportive of the Jewish cause. From now on, she will be fairly Marmite in terms of deals, which will shrink her commercial ecosystem.' As for the BBC – which is closely linked to Rooney after adapting two of her novels and which she singled out in her editorial – it may well pause before collaborating with her in the future. 'The BBC will obfuscate on this topic for a long time,' says Borkowski. 'I would think that they are pretty uncomfortable because it puts them in the firing line.' Some have even argued that there might be room for legal action against the corporation. 'By providing financial assistance to an organisation which clearly intends to commit criminal damage in the UK, she is likely to be guilty under UK law for knowingly assisting the commission of criminal offences,' says Jonathan Turner, the chief executive of the legal advocacy organisation UK Lawyers for Israel. 'I think the BBC and sellers of her books could also be liable for assisting criminal offences by Palestine Action, as well as offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, for transferring funds that may be used for the purposes of terrorism.' The BBC, which now finds itself facing calls to pull Rooney's dramas from iPlayer, has itself said: 'Matters relating to proscribed organisations are for the relevant authorities.' The corporation is not thought to be working with Rooney on any projects at present. As for the author herself? Rooney may yet ride out this storm – but at 34 she has a long career ahead of her and, by taking such a controversial stance, has made herself more vulnerable. 'She will have made some enemies by doing this,' says one agent. 'Let's just say that this is not the time to put out a bad book.'
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Wafer ruled out of Ireland's World Cup opener
Women's Rugby World Cup - Pool C: Ireland v JapanVenue: Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Date: Sunday, 24 August Kick-off: 12:00 BSTCoverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sport website and app. Aoife Wafer has been ruled out of Ireland's opening Women's Rugby World Cup match against Japan as she continues her comeback from knee surgery. The 2025 Women's Six Nations player of the tournament underwent a procedure last month which caused her to miss Ireland's warm-up games against Scotland and Canada and she has not yet travelled to England with her 22-year-old back row was named in head coach Scott Bemand's squad last week but is not fit enough to feature against Japan on Sunday (12:00 BST) and has remained in Dublin to work on her recovery. As per the rules of the competition, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) had to inform World Rugby that Wafer had not departed with the squad as players cannot return home during the tournament window to treat injuries as it would be viewed as unfair on those squads who have greater distances to travel. Following their opener in Fraklin's Gardens, Ireland face Spain on 31 August and back-to-back world champions New Zealand on 7 September in their other Pool C games and the side's assistant coach Larissa Muldoon confirmed that Wafer will join the team next week" in preparation looking into Spain."Co-captain Edel McMahon, who also did not feature in either of Ireland's warm-up fixtures, is with the squad and according to Muldoon "came through training" on Tuesday with no who will join Harlequins from Leinster after the tournament in England, scored four tries for Ireland in the Six Nations but missed the last game of the championship after damaging knee ligaments against fitness has become increasingly significant for Ireland following injuries to fellow back rowers Dorothy Wall and Erin King, who will both miss the World however, has confidence in Ireland's depth at the position. "People forget the like of Claire Boles have come back in, Ivana Kiripati has come through the under-20s pathway," added the former international scrum-half."[We have] amazing players coming through and giving us that element of competition in our training environment and identity."
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Hundreds attend solidarity gig in Dublin for Kneecap rapper
Hundreds of people have attended a music session in Dublin city in solidarity with Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh after he appeared in court on Wednesday. Kneecap flags and logos hung from the windows in Connolly Books, which dubs itself Ireland's oldest radical bookshop, in solidarity with O hAnnaidh, Kneecap, and the people of Palestine. Pro-Palestine supporters criticised the decision by British authorities to bring a charge against the performer instead of focusing on the Israeli government's actions against the Palestinian people. O hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year. Hundreds of Kneecap supporters greeted O hAnnaidh as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday morning, alongside fellow Kneecap rappers Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh. During the hearing, his defence team argued the case should be thrown out, citing a technical error in the way the charge against him was brought. The case has been adjourned until September 26, when the judge will rule on whether he has the jurisdiction to try the case. At the protest session at Connolly Books on Wednesday afternoon, several artists played Irish traditional music in solidarity with Kneecap. Dubliner Aoife Powell, 19, said she came out to protest because she is 'angry' at the decision to charge an artist rather than focus on what is happening to the people of Gaza. 'I'm here because it just worries me that the fact that governments are focused on artists expressing themselves rather than the actual problem, which is obviously the genocide in Gaza,' she told the PA news agency. 'It's a little bit disheartening to see there's so much pressure being put on these artists to stop saying what they truly think and to stop standing on the right side of history. 'I feel like it's a distraction from what's actually happening. 'When a government tries to silence people, they should learn that they can never silence people. I feel like the public would get more angry at that.' Sean O'Grady is from Coleraine in Northern Ireland but has lived in Dublin for almost 70 years. 'I'm delighted with them (Kneecap), that they've done what they're doing, and they're getting plenty of publicity. 'The British government are crazy, I mean, what are they at? 'They're supplying a lot of the bombs, and a lot of the arms and ammunition to Israel to do what they're doing. So they should be ashamed of themselves instead of bringing in these people (to court) for stupid reasons. 'It's getting good publicity over there for the cause of the Palestinians.' Dubliner Dermot Nolan said he attended his first Palestine protest in 1967, and while he remembers horrific events such as the Vietnam War, the scale of death and injuries in Gaza is the worst he has ever lived through. 'I'm here because it's important to for two reasons – first of all, to show our intolerance of the genocide and slaughter that's being carried out by the US, Nato and Israel. 'The second reason is the question of civil rights. We're protesting about the indictment of a member of the Irish group Kneecap. 'It is a sign of creeping authoritarianism which is happening in all the western countries and most clearly in Britain.'
