Latest news with #JJÓDochartaigh
The Sun
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Hip-hop trio Kneecap say cops ‘trying to silence them' at first major gig since Liam O'Hanna charged with terror offence
KNEECAP claimed cops are "trying to silence them" at their first major gig since a band member was charged with a terror offence. The Irish-language hip-hop trio slammed the charge as "political policing". 5 5 Liam O'Hanna, 27, was charged with a terror offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag. The rapper is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18. Appearing onstage at the Wide Awake festival last night, he declared to fans that police are "trying to silence us before Glastonbury" and urged them to be "on the right side of history." Mo Chara (O'Hanna), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and balaclava-wearing DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh) played songs from their album Fine Art. It has seen a surge in streaming since the controversy began. The album includes a song called The Recap which was released only hours earlier. It begins with a clip of a news report about the counter-terrorism investigation. O'Hanna joked with fans that they would have to write to him in jail, the BBC reported. Some Kneecap gigs have been cancelled in the wake of the controversy. These include sets at the Eden Project in Cornwall and Plymouth Pavilions. They are listed to perform on the Saturday at Glastonbury, but some politicians have called for the trio to be barred. The rapper is due in court the week before the festival starts. O'Hanna was charged after allegedly displaying the banner in support of the Iranian proxy militants in Lebanon. The incident unfolded on November 21 last year at the O2 Forum, in Kentish Town, London. Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command launched an urgent probe after being made aware on April 22. An investigation was carried out after reviewing video footage from the event. O'Hanna, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was later charged under the Terrorism Act 2000. Friday's gig follows a smaller "secret" band at London's 100 club the night before. At least three cops were seen walking into the venue at around 7.35pm. The rapper could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth. He then joked about being careful about what he said, adding that he wanted to thank his lawyer. Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English, and their merchandise. Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag. 5
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Kneecap show their soulful side as they trudge through the Arctic snow
Kneecap have undeniably been in hot water in the past several weeks. But before the firestorm, they spent several days in the Arctic Circle in the company of former Army ranger and survival expert Ray Goggins and their exploits are now documented in part two of Uncharted With Ray Goggins ( RTÉ One, Wednesday). Those tuning in expecting further fireworks will be disappointed. The trio of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh make for largely thoughtful company, though there are occasionally flashes of cheeky chap-dom. They get on well with Goggins – a literal sgt major type and stickler for military discipline, as they wend their way across Finland to the tri-border marker where Finland, Norway and Sweden intersect. But if the episode has a deeper message, it is perhaps to touch on the distance that can still exist between people from the two sides of the island. They don't seem impressed that Goggins is a decorated ranger. 'I hear he was in the Irish Army . . . they basically do f**k all,' quips one – a jarring line considering the many sacrifices made by the Irish Army cross the decades. On the other hand, they speak fluent Irish while Goggins does not, and their passion for the country's ancient oral traditions is evoked wonderfully when they meet an indigenous Finish Sámi singer and perform the sean-nós, Amhrán Na Scadán. READ MORE Kneecap's Naoise Ó Cairealláin in the Arctic. Photograph: RTÉ [ Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Leo Varadkar has to get halfway up a mountain with Lyra before he lets his guard down Opens in new window ] The actual adventure elements of the instalment are more disposable – there's lots of trudging through the snow and digging sheltering holes as the sun goes down. There's also a great deal of swearing, and the show could have been done without Goggins, the responsible adult in the scenario, dropping an f-bomb – who is he trying to impress? Carrying on from where he left off last week during his exploits with Leo Varadkar and Lyra , he gets straight to the point when Kneecap arrive on snowmobiles. 'Welcome to the Arctic, fellas . . . If you get your s**t wrong you're going to suffer. If you get your s**t badly wrong, you're in trouble.' Off they set on a three-day trek where indignities include trying to shuffle up a hill in sub-zero temperatures and using an outdoor toilet in the middle of a snowstorm. 'You don't want your arse to stick to the toilet seat. It was an experience,' protests JJ. Kneecap's antics on stage have created the impression that they're born rabble-rousers. However, anyone who has seen their quasi-autobiographical movie or actually attended one of their gigs can tell you that they have a thoughtful and soulful side too, and this comes through as they talk in Irish and speak about how, in their estimation, British rule in the North has been bad for both communities. But then they start banging on about wanting to retain the NHS – suggesting they have bought into the exceptionalist British myth that their public healthcare system is the best in the world. Haters will be underwhelmed by Kneecap's entry into survival-based fly-on-the-wall television. They come across as largely reflective, occasionally a bit gobby and annoying. But if this frosty serving of reality TV ultimately achieves anything, is it to show that a band widely caricatured as addicted to controversy have no objection to chilling out in the right circumstances.
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Kneecap to headline London festival as planned after other gig cancellations
Kneecap's headline set at London's Wide Awake festival is to go ahead as planned after a number of the group's concerts were cancelled by organisers. The group has seen gigs including a performance at the Eden Project in Cornwall on July 4th cancelled after old concert footage appeared to show a member of the group shouting 'up Hamas , up Hizbullah ', and another video allegedly showing one saying 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP'. In a statement confirming their performance in Brixton's Brockwell Park would go ahead as planned, Wide Awake said: 'After positive discussions with key stakeholders, Wide Awake festival can confirm that, as planned, Kneecap will be performing at this year's festival on Friday, May 23rd at Brockwell Park. 'Wide Awake Festival has a proud history of supporting the alternative music scene and we look forward to staging another unforgettable event showcasing the very best emerging and established talent.' READ MORE Comprised of Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh, the group has faced an investigation by counter-terrorism police in Britain after the videos, filmed in 2023 and 2024, became public. The Wide Awake performance will be the band's first UK gig since the investigation was launched. Kneecap shows at Plymouth Pavilions and a number of German events, including Hurricane and Southside festivals, have also been cancelled. In a post on X following the announcement, the group said: 'Well well London, we'll be seeing you for a headline show in Brockwell Park next Friday. 'Some tickets remain – this one is going to be very special.' Well well London 🔥 We'll be seeing you for a headline show in Brockwell Park next Friday🌳 Some tickets remain - this one is gonna be very special ❤️ 🎟️ — KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) Kneecap apologised to the families of murdered MPs, but claimed the old footage had been 'exploited and weaponised', while they also said they have 'never supported' Hamas or Hizbullah, which are both banned organisations in the UK. UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned while other politicians have pushed for the group to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. Last week, Self Esteem, real name Rebecca Lucy Taylor, told Times Radio she would be 'comfortable' sharing a stage with the trio at Glastonbury and added she felt it would be 'a problem (for) culture, art, freedom of speech' if they did not perform. Artists including CMAT , Massive Attack, The Pogues, Brian Eno , Pulp, Paul Weller , former BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac and Primal Scream have defended the band following the furore. They signed a statement saying there is a 'clear, concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform' Kneecap while claiming that politicians are 'strategically concocting moral outrage over the stage utterings of a young punk band' while ignoring a 'genocide' in Gaza . [ Kneecap and Boris Johnson have a lot in common Opens in new window ] Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics and merchandise as well as their championing of the Irish language, their best known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live and 3Cag. Alongside Kneecap, the Wide Awake one-day festival will also see performances from the likes of CMAT, English Teacher and Peaches. – PA
Telegraph
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Anti-British film wins Bafta for Best British debut film
An anti-British film has won the Bafta for the best outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer. The Irish-language film Kneecap, by director and writer Rich Peppiatt, is based on a semi-fictionalised account of how the Belfast rap group of the same name was formed. The outspoken band, made up of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Caireallain and JJ Ó Dochartaigh from West Belfast, is known for its provocative lyrics and merchandise in support of Irish republicanism. During Sunday's awards ceremony, the breakout movie was nominated in six categories – including best British film, best editing, best film not in the English language, best original screenplay, best casting and best debut for a British writer, director or producer. After Peppiatt won the best debut, he took to the stage and said Kneecap was a 'movement' and that 'everyone should have their language respected and their culture respected'. The trio's name is derived from so-called kneecapping – where young people are shot in the legs by paramilitaries in republican and loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, because of allegedly being involved in crime or antisocial behaviour. The film includes a joke that compares the Brighton bombing to a sex act. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform, told The Telegraph: 'This is an insult of the worst kind to all the good people of the RUC and British Army who were murdered by the IRA.' Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was one of 29 people killed in the 1998 Omagh bombing by the IRA, told The Telegraph that Bafta 'should be awarding filmmakers that give positive messages to young'. One Troubles victim, who was five years old when a 1974 bomb attack by loyalist paramilitaries in Dublin killed his father and left him with lifelong injuries, said Kneecap has 'abused their platform'. He told The Telegraph that the group 'wasted an excellent opportunity to not objectify and glorify terrorism and the havoc it creates'. Following the film's Bafta win, he added: 'They used and abused their platform to paint Irish Republican Army terrorists as a group of noble freedom fighters. 'There is nothing noble in shooting a man in front of his wife and children or blowing him up reversing his car out of the driveway.' He said the award represented 'a great opportunity totally wasted', adding: 'Their glorification of republican terrorism is not only sad, it's pathetic.' JJ Ó Dochartaigh, whose stage name is DJ Próvaí, attended the awards wearing his signature balaclava in the colours of the Irish tricolour. The official Kneecap X page posted ahead of the awards ceremony on Sunday said: ' We're at the Baftas later – hopefully we steal a few to take back to Ireland. 'Don't forget the British Government still occupy Ireland and they're flying spy missions over Gaza as we speak to help Zionist fanatics bomb kids. 'Free Palestine. Free the Six Counties.' In November 2024, the group won a discrimination case over a decision by Kemi Badenoch, now Conservative leader, to refuse them arts funding. The trio had launched legal action claiming the decision to deny them a £14,250 grant discriminated against them on grounds of nationality and political opinion. She has since branded the Labour Government 'cowardly' for deciding not to appeal the court ruling. A spokesman for Mrs Badenoch said: 'It is unbelievable Labour has chosen not to pursue this case…Labour will always capitulate rather than defend UK interests. 'This case is not about whether a band promotes violence or hates the UK, as Kneecap clearly does; this is about whether government ministers have the ability to stop taxpayers' money subsidising people who neither need nor deserve it.'
