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Irish Independent
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
French town drops music festival funding over Kneecap booking
The annual festival takes place between August 21 and August 24 in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Cloud, located to the west of the French capital. Their presence on the line-up has resulted in the Saint-Cloud city hall confirming that they have dropped their €40,000 subsidy that had been ear-marked for the event organisers. In a statement released on Wednesday, the authorities confirmed that the figure had been agreed but the decision was made to cut their funding following the final line-up of the festival being confirmed earlier this month. The local authority said it respected the festival's programming freedom and did not 'enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming'. The statement added: 'On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality.' The Belfast trio have seen a number of their recent gigs cancelled following backlash over the group's comments about Israel's destruction of Gaza. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those to criticise the rappers' appearance at Glastonbury late last month. A criminal investigation was launched by British police following Kneecap's performance at the English festival, with local police stating there is 'no place in society for hate'. The group led the packed crowed in chants of 'f**k Keir Starmer' with the BBC opting not to live stream the performance. Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was previously charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying the flag of Hezbollah at a gig in London last November. The rapper, who performs under the name Mo Chara, appeared before a court in London over the charge, which he denies. The Kneecap star could make legal history if he opts to use an Irish language interpreter at his next appearance before the British court in August. Ó hAnnaidh has indicated he'll ask for a translator at his next court appearance, and Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) director Daniel Holder says it could make legal history. Irish is recognised in UK law as a minority language, and the rapper could argue he wants to use Irish as his right to freedom of expression without discrimination. 'If you have a case where someone is charged with a criminal offence and they do not understand English it is part of their right to a fair trial that they have an interpreter,' the legal expert recently said.
Sunday World
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Kneecap rapper Mo Chara can make history at London court hearing
Kneecap rapper's possible use of interpreter would be a first for UK The issue was raised when the Belfast rapper, accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a London gig, appeared at Westminster Magistrate's Court in June. The presiding magistrate said the court couldn't find an Irish language translator, which led to laughter in the courtroom as bandmate DJ Próvaí acts as an interpreter in the band's Bafta-winning semi-autobiographical movie. Mo Chara (27) – real name Liam Ó hAnnaidh – has indicated he'll ask for a translator at his next court appearance, and Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) director Daniel Holder says it could make legal history. Kneecap Irish is recognised in UK law as a minority language, and the rapper could argue he wants to use Irish as his right to freedom of expression without discrimination. 'If you have a case where someone is charged with a criminal offence and they do not understand English it is part of their right to a fair trial that they have an interpreter,' says Daniel. Clearly 'Now that is clearly not the circumstance here because Mo Chara does speak and understand English. 'However, the question would arise, as this is an Irish-speaking artist who does all his stuff through Irish which is probably the home language, there is a fairly strong argument that in order for Mo Chara as a defendant to have freedom of expression without discrimination on the basis of language that he should be allowed to address the court in Irish. 'The issue is whether the court will permit that or not. That's what I don't think has been decided yet.' In Wales, cases can be heard in Welsh and in UK courts its commonplace for defendants to be provided with an interpreter if they don't speak English. But Mo Chara's case could be the first time an Irish language interpreter has been allowed by a court. Daniel Holder 'It would be very significant. Certainly I've never heard of another case whereby Irish is allowed to be spoken through an interpreter,' says Daniel. 'In terms of an English court I'm not aware of any other case where this has happened.' The human rights expert says appointing an interpreter could also make the court appearance less stressful for the Belfast performer. 'I know these are very high-profile artists but appearing in court is quite an emotive, highly-charged situation in all circumstances so speaking in your indigenous language that you're most comfortable in is something the court would hopefully consider and through an interpreter would ensure that everyone understood what was going on.' He says the translation service in courts is formalised and professional. 'If it was an interpreter it couldn't be someone's mate. 'In London there are bound to be qualified Irish language interpreters. They just won't be used to doing court work as the situation probably doesn't arise very often,' says Daniel. In Northern Ireland the use of Irish in courts and in court documents was banned under a 1737 law. The Language and Identity Act, brought in by Westminster in 2022, makes statutory provision to repeal the ban, but this has not yet been triggered. In a CAJ-backed tribunal last year, members of Conradh na Gaeilge and several witnesses introduced themselves to the hearing in Irish, the first time it had been spoken in a courtroom since Northern Ireland was founded. 'Obviously, there will have been occasions in the past where people have said things in Irish in court without being granted permission to do so, but on this occasion a member of Conradh na Gaeilge was the first person since the establishment of Northern Ireland to address the court in Irish, and for the first time possibly since the ban,' says Daniel. And if Mo Chara chooses to use an interpreter it will not influence his case. 'There is no prejudice to the court in doing it. Other than the short additional time it takes to do interpreting, which is routine in cases where someone doesn't speak English. 'It remains to be seen whether the court will permit it or not,' he says. Mo Chara, who was accompanied to court by band members Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh, has been released on unconditional bail. His next court hearing is on August 20. Mo Chara is back before the judge next month News in 90 Seconds - Monday July 14th
Irish Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Study finds ‘alarming' role played by social media in sparking racial intimidation in North
Social media is playing an 'alarming' role in fostering racial intimidation and far-right narratives in Northern Ireland, according to a report published on Friday. The study, commissioned by the Belfast-based human rights NGO the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) with the support of the Equality Coalition, found anti-immigrant and racist incidents in the North were being 'significantly amplified' by far-right networks and figures, particularly in the Republic of Ireland and Britain. These have 'pushed false narratives framing far-right anti-immigration rallies as moments of 'two communities ... putting their differences aside and coming together', falsely presenting Catholic and Protestant communities as united under a banner of anti-immigrant sentiment', the report said. It also identified the 'innate toxicity' and 'alarming racist rhetoric and disinformation in online community forums'. READ MORE The report said that 'under the guise of local discussion, these spaces circulate false claims about migrants and refugees, contributing to a climate of hostility and fear. 'Left unregulated, such platforms facilitate the spread of inflammatory narratives that not only fuel online hate but directly contribute to real-world racist intimidation and violence.' Mapping Far Right Activity Online in Northern Ireland was written by the Rabble Co-operative, a Belfast-based technology co-operative of members with backgrounds in areas including human rights advocacy, trade union organising and policy research. It examined the role of social media in a number of anti-immigration protests and racist incidents in Northern Ireland from 2023-25, including anti-immigration and Islamophobic protests and riots in Belfast in August 2024, and the online abuse of Northern Ireland's first black mayor, Lilian Seenoi-Barr. It found 'a disturbing pattern of locally driven racist and anti-immigrant activity in Northern Ireland ... rooted in local dynamics, organised through private chat groups or offline interactions, with publicly accessible social media serving to frame narratives and escalate tensions'. [ Gardaí investigate presence of far-right figures from Dublin at Belfast riots Opens in new window ] In the case of the Belfast riots, the report said the involvement of anti-immigration activists from the South was key in amplifying the event beyond Northern Ireland, and 'succeeded in reaching a much broader audience', with two pieces of video content in particular playing a 'particularly significant role in shaping the general reporting on the protest'. There were 'deliberate efforts online to portray the protests as uniting both Irish nationalists and British unionists against the perceived common enemies of immigration and Islam', it found, even though this was not the case. 'While social media analysis cannot definitively prove the extent to which the involvement of anti-immigrant activists from Dublin was deliberately staged to promote the narrative of 'nationalists and unionists united' against immigration, their participation was crucial in framing the protest in this way,' the report said. The researcher and author of the report, Dessie Donnelly, said the report showed 'local incidents of racial intimidation are not isolated; tbehey are cynically amplified through a far-right online ecosystem that distorts public perception. 'Online community spaces that should foster genuine dialogue have instead become breeding grounds for toxic misinformation that directly endangers migrant and minority communities on the ground. 'Platforms must not be allowed to profit from this harm unchecked. We provide clear recommendations: stronger regulation, direct platform engagement to challenge lies and disinformation, and critical alternatives to existing social media ecosystems,' he said. Mr Donnelly also called on civic society and public bodies to 'act decisively' and on political representatives to 'lead from the front ... dismantling stereotypes, providing fact-based rebuttals, and calling out racism in all its forms, online and off.'
Reuters
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Northern Irish government in breach of anti-poverty obligation, court says
BELFAST, March 5 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's power-sharing government is in breach of a nearly 20-year-old statutory obligation to develop an anti-poverty strategy, the region's high court found on Wednesday, putting further pressure on ministers to act. The 2006 St Andrew's Agreement amended the law underpinning the 1998 Good Friday Peace deal to compel local politicians to adopt a poverty strategy. Poverty has worsened in that time as successive governments failed to put a plan in place. The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) human rights group began proceedings in December, citing the lack of action since the regional assembly was restored following a two-year suspension in February 2024. Northern Ireland's High Court had already ruled in 2015, in response to a CAJ complaint, that the executive was acting unlawfully by not adopting an anti-poverty strategy. "This vindicates everyone that has been fighting for an anti-poverty strategy. It confirms once again that this isn't a policy decision, it isn't a nice to have, it is a legal obligation," the CAJ's Una Boyd said outside the court. Judge Michael Humphreys said on Wednesday he was not satisfied that the CAJ had separately demonstrated that the Minister for Communities had thwarted the development of strategy. A spokesperson for the British-run province's Department for Communities (DfC) said on Jan. 22 that it hoped to present a paper on a strategy to ministers "in the coming weeks". According to 2024 government data published, 19% of Northern Ireland's population live in relative poverty. Separate research has shown that areas with Irish nationalist majorities are particularly afflicted by child poverty. The law says the strategy must be based on objective need, meaning that resources cannot simply be allocated equally between unionist and nationalist communities if there are significant differences in poverty levels.
