24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Kneecap join O'Connor in hall of fame for calling out injustices
If you didn't know who they were before, you almost certainly know about Kneecap now.
The panic, the wringing of the hands, the headlines, and now a terror charge — all coming off a performance at Coachella and a video from gigs almost a year ago.
Their performance at one of the largest US festivals made headlines after clips went viral of their members — Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí — calling out the Israeli genocide of Gaza.
Among other things, they were filmed asking the festival attendees: 'If you're not calling it a genocide, what the fuck are you calling it?'
In a previous Instagram statement, the band have alleged they had 'faced a co-ordinated smear campaign'.
They said that their shows have previously 'called out' the conflict in Gaza.
'Let us be absolutely clear: The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple — we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing,' they said.
'Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponise false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.'
Israel has long been sly about how and when they decide to attack
I wrote in these pages before about how they carried an extensive bombardment of Rafah, killing an estimated 100 civilians — including children — in what became known as the 'Rafah massacre', while most Americans were distracted by the bright lights of the Super Bowel.
Sinéad O'Connor knew all about smear campaigns and distractions.
When she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II during an appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL), one of the biggest shows in American TV history, she knew there would be anger.
There were 4,400 complaints to NBC overnight.
The then archbishop of Boston, Bernard Francis Law, said it was a 'gesture of hate'.
Within one week, you had Joe Pesci threatening her by saying he would have 'grabbed her by the eyebrows' and 'given her such a smack' while hosting SNL.
Sinead O'Connor rips up a photo of Pope John Paul II on 'SNL' in 1992.
Then you had the always-virtuous and right-about-everything Madonna mocking her fellow singer weeks later.
She would be booed off stage two weeks after that at a Bob Dylan tribute show in Madison Square Garden, and her overall lack of success in the American market can be somewhat pinpointed down to the SNL incident. It would take just over a decade for O'Connor to be fully vindicated.
Ferns, Murphy, Cloyne, Tuam, Limerick, Ossory, Ryan. All places and names that come straight to the tip of your tongue when talking about clerical abuse in Ireland.
The haunting cries of the late mayor of Clonmel, Michael O'Brien, on Questions and Answers have been seared into my memory since I first watched it live in 2009. That's before you even take a global look at clerical abuse.
As an example, Mr 'gesture of hate' Bernard Francis Law resigned in 2002 for his role in covering up abuse in Boston.
Anyone who knew anything about Sinead O'Connor wouldn't have seen the picture-ripping as a surprise.
Months prior, she had threatened to chain herself to the gates surrounding the Dáil over the infamous X Case.
So why is there such shock and anger around Kneecap's actions? They are literally named after a Troubles-era paramilitary tactic of targeting knees in so-called punishment attacks. DJ Próvaí wears a tricoloured balaclava.
They have consistently began every single performance in the last three years highlighting the oppression of the Palestinian people and the actions of Israel, including at Electric Picnic last year.
Anyone who has listened to their music, watched any interview, or has seen their excellent self-titled film will be fully aware that they use hyperbole and humour while performing.
Festivals
Now, there are calls to take them away from major festivals after their shouting of 'up Hamas and up Hezbollah' at a performance in London in 2023.
There's even a charge of terror against Mo Chara over the alleged waving of a Hezbollah flag during a gig in the same city last November.
My fellow Irish Examiner writer Suzanne Harrington was at that performance in 2023, and she outright rejected the assertion that the group are 'pro-violence' as a result.
Another reason there is such uproar in the House of Commons and Britian in general is down to Kneecap having previously taken on the powers that be — and winning.
Even more specifically, they took the Conservative government to court last summer after the then business secretary and current party leader, Kemi Badenoch, blocked an arts grant of £14,250 being awarded to the band.
She had claimed that the government did not want to give taxpayers' money to 'people that oppose the United Kingdom itself'.
In a Belfast court in November, that move was found to be 'unlawful and procedurally unfair'.
What did big evil Kneecap do with the funds? Donated it between two organisations in Belfast that work with both Catholic and Protestant communities. The band stated: 'They have tried to silence us and they have failed.'
Sharon Osborne, herself a vocal supporter of Israel, has called for their US visas to be revoked after they performed at Coachella.
However, 'making it big' in America isn't quite as important as it was in 1992 for modern musicians. If there's one thing that younger generations love, it's being told who they can and can't listen to by stuffy politicians and washed-up X-Factor judges.
Besides, Kneecap won't care one bit if they don't make it stateside given that they have correctly been highlighting the US government's complicity in the murder of thousands of children in Gaza
Móglaí Bap said as much in the group's appearance on RTÉ's Unchartered earlier this month.
What was everyone talking about in the immediate aftermath of that infamous SNL show? Sinéad ripping the photo. What weren't they talking about? The global clerical abuse in the Catholic Church.
What is everyone talking about now? Are people talking about how there hasn't been aid allowed into Gaza for three months? That Palestinian children are running after empty water tanks that are being driven away because they are so desperate for something to drink? That we are watching a genocide on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and everywhere else as Israel drops 100,000 tonnes of explosives on an area?
Are they talking about how, hours before the Met police confirmed the terror charge, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shot at diplomats (including two from Ireland) visiting the Jenin refugee camp to observe the humanitarian situation? No. They're talking about a clip featuring three lads from Belfast some 18 months ago.
It took just over two decades, until her sad death in July 2023, for many to acknowledge that Sinéad O'Connor was on the right side of history when ripping up the picture of the pope.
Is is really going to take two decades for the same to be acknowledged for Kneecap when it comes to Gaza?
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