Roddy Keenan
23 December 2025
Móglaí Bap (right) argues that it is Ireland’s turn to speak out against oppression.
ANP via ZUMA Press
Kneecap, the Irish hip hop group, was widely criticized by Israel’s supporters earlier in the year after using its performance at the Coachella festival in California to denounce the genocidal war against Gaza.
In the aftermath of the event, the band found itself at the center of controversy, with concerts canceled, reports that its members had lost their US work visas, and even terrorist charges being brought against one of them by the British state.
Yet through it all, the three members of the band – who go by the stage names Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Próvaí – have refused to remain silent, continuing to raise awareness, campaign and participate in practical initiatives to support the Palestinian people.
In an interview with The Electronic Intifada, Kneecap’s Móglaí Bap (given name: Naoise Ó Cairealláin) spoke about the band’s activism.
Hailing from Belfast, Móglaí Bap attributed his support for the Palestinian cause to his upbringing in the British-occupied north of Ireland.
“Growing up in Belfast, we were more aware of the politics of colonialism and the consistent trends associated with it,” he explained. “And what we have in Palestine is colonialism.”
“I remember going on marches with my ma, and when I was 15 or 16 tagging along with her to protests against Israeli products being sold at a local supermarket,” he recalled.
“I think within Irish consciousness generally, there is an awareness of colonialism, and what that means, especially in Belfast. But across the island, amongst young people, there seems like there’s big shifts, with a lot more awareness of Palestine and anti-colonialist movements in general.”
Móglaí Bap has observed how support for the Palestinian people has grown among young people internationally during the Gaza genocide.
“Even on TikTok there was a survey done, which is used by mainly young people, and most were pro-Palestine. That’s the direction it’s going because they’re watching what’s happening there every day over there on their phones.”
Practical support
While the band’s support of Palestine has been widely recognized in recent months, Kneecap has a long association with the Palestinian cause.
In the past, the band was involved in helping raise funds to establish a gymnasium in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
The Aclaí Palestine community gym, located in Aida’s Lajee Center, was set up by Naoise Ó Cairealláin’s brother Ainle, who previously ran a gym in Cork in the southwest of Ireland. The Aida facility opened in 2020 and provides free access to the entire community.
“One of the lessons we learned in the north [of Ireland] is that activism can extend to something practical,” explained Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Móglaí Bap), “and practical support is sometimes the most worthwhile form of activism because it has an impact on people.”
Consistent with this approach, he also spoke of plans to build a community music studio in Aida. Funds for the project will be raised in a collaboration between Kneecap and Bohemians, a football club in Dublin, which sees the band sponsoring the club’s 2026 away jersey.
The white shirt is patterned with a kuffiyeh – Palestinian checkered scarf – design and features interwoven Irish and Palestinian flags.
Thirty percent of profits from sales of the shirt will go to Aclaí Palestine to build the music studio in the Lajee Center.
While paying tribute to the “mind-boggling resilience and spirit” of the Palestinian people in the face of occupation, oppression and the daily brutality of the Israeli apartheid regime, Móglaí Bap pointed to the importance of these practical initiatives and the provision of community resources such as the music studio.
“It’s something where people can go to be expressive and enjoy life and not have to just be in survival mode all the time,” he said.
Media pile on
In April, Kneecap hit the headlines when, performing at the annual Coachella festival in California, the band took aim at the genocide in Gaza. At the end of their performance, the Kneecap trio flashed up a few messages on the screen behind them.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” read the first, followed by, “it is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.” The final message read, “Fuck Israel. Free Palestine.”
The extraordinary repercussions of the band’s actions were swift, as a political and establishment media pile on ensued.
Móglaí Bap said the band was as surprised as anyone by the frenzy which greeted its stance.
“We had done the same graphics at all our gigs in Europe and never thought it would cause the storm it did as we had done it everywhere,” he explained. “In fact, it seemed just like a normal gig, despite reports about people leaving, fearing for their safety, we didn’t see anything like that. It was actually a great concert, yet nobody talks about that.”
“But as we were on our way back on the plane from Coachella, we saw we were on Fox News and thought, ‘this is different.’”
In the weeks and months to follow, the band’s members would find themselves in the eye of the storm as the political and media establishment colluded in what Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert called a “concerted campaign” to silence the band because of its temerity to call out the Israeli apartheid regime.
The TV personality Sharon Osbourne called for the band’s US visas to be revoked. The band has been forbidden from going to Hungary for three years and a Canadian politician announced the group was banned from entering that country (although the politician in question did not have the power to impose such a ban).
The lengths to which the British establishment would go to try and silence Kneecap became evident in May. The British authorities brought charges against band member Mo Chara (given name: Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) under anti-terror legislation, over allegations that he displayed the flag of a proscribed organization at a concert approximately six months earlier.
While terror charges against Mo Chara were thrown out by a London court in September, the British authorities refused to let the case go and have appealed the court’s decision. The appeal has not yet been heard.
Móglaí Bap acknowledged that the proceedings have been an ordeal.
“It was tough, but we knew [we had to], just bear the storm and get through it,” the rapper said. “We knew we were on the right side.”
“It’s important to speak out and counter those that are trying to control the narrative – it’s a propaganda war. But this is what happens when you do speak out,” Móglaí Bap explained.
“We see the same thing happening with Bob Vylan – they’ve been labeled anti-Semitic for criticizing Israel, which is crazy,” he added. “It’s like with us, when we wrote ‘fuck Israel.’ It’s a shortened version of ‘fuck the Israeli government.’”
The British band Bob Vylan is currently taking legal action against Ireland’s RTE for defamation after the broadcaster accused the duo of leading anti-Semitic chants. The band’s chants of “death to the IDF” at the Glastonbury festival in England had actually been focused on the Israeli military, which is carrying out a genocide.
While Móglaí Bap feels that Kneecap’s stance could act as a source of encouragement to other musicians and empower them to speak up, he admitted that some would be reluctant to do so.
“If you’re in a band, you might be afraid to speak out because there are repercussions, especially if you are an up-and-coming band, dependent on small gigs – it can be a hard place to be,” he explained. “We’re established now, it’s different for us, so I would never judge up-and-coming bands.”
However, when it comes to established performers refusing to speak out, Móglaí Bap has no sympathy.
“If you’re a big artist, yet you’re getting sponsored by McDonald’s, that’s different,” he said. “There’s not saying anything, and then there’s actively supporting a group that’s on the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] list.”
As Kneecap’s profile and popularity continues to grow, it is evident that efforts to muzzle the band will not work.
“We’re in a privileged position here in Ireland, so we don’t have to remain quiet. We can use our platform to speak out. And in Ireland we have a long tradition of resistance to colonialism.”
“Huge impact”
Móglaí Bap also pointed out how even the smallest action of defiance can become an act of resistance and have an impact far greater than one might imagine.
He referred to the example set by Mary Manning, a worker in the Irish retail chain Dunnes Stores, a few decades ago. Manning and a number of her colleagues went on strike rather than facilitate the sale of South African goods during that country’s apartheid era.
“We saw how the Dunnes Stores staff and Mary Manning in Dublin during the 1980s refused to handle products from apartheid South Africa,” Móglaí Bap said. “Working class people taking action and having a huge impact. And, of course, Ireland is where the concept of the ‘boycott’ originated.”
The Kneecap rapper recalled how at the time of Ireland’s Great Famine in the 1840s – a hunger crisis exacerbated by Britain – the Choctaw Nation demonstrated practical solidarity with the starving.
“We need to remember that during the famine, the Choctaw Nation gave food to the Irish although they themselves had very little,” he reflected. “Small acts of solidarity can raise the spirits and give energy to people.”
“For so long, we saw the colonial myths about Ireland, calling the Irish backward and subhuman, and we see this same dehumanization being done in Palestine to justify mass murder and genocide against the Palestinian people,” he added.
“But, as I’ve said, we’re in a privileged position now. We have a platform and a pretty comfortable life in Ireland, so it’s our turn to speak out.”
Originally from Ireland, Roddy Keenan is a freelance journalist and author based in the UK.
Kneecap, the Irish hip hop group, was widely criticized by Israel’s supporters earlier in the year after using its performance at the Coachella festival in California to denounce the genocidal war against Gaza.
In the aftermath of the event, the band found itself at the center of controversy, with concerts canceled, reports that its members had lost their US work visas, and even terrorist charges being brought against one of them by the British state.
Yet through it all, the three members of the band – who go by the stage names Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Próvaí – have refused to remain silent, continuing to raise awareness, campaign and participate in practical initiatives to support the Palestinian people.
In an interview with The Electronic Intifada, Kneecap’s Móglaí Bap (given name: Naoise Ó Cairealláin) spoke about the band’s activism.
Hailing from Belfast, Móglaí Bap attributed his support for the Palestinian cause to his upbringing in the British-occupied north of Ireland.
“Growing up in Belfast, we were more aware of the politics of colonialism and the consistent trends associated with it,” he explained. “And what we have in Palestine is colonialism.”
“I remember going on marches with my ma, and when I was 15 or 16 tagging along with her to protests against Israeli products being sold at a local supermarket,” he recalled.
“I think within Irish consciousness generally, there is an awareness of colonialism, and what that means, especially in Belfast. But across the island, amongst young people, there seems like there’s big shifts, with a lot more awareness of Palestine and anti-colonialist movements in general.”
Móglaí Bap has observed how support for the Palestinian people has grown among young people internationally during the Gaza genocide.
“Even on TikTok there was a survey done, which is used by mainly young people, and most were pro-Palestine. That’s the direction it’s going because they’re watching what’s happening there every day over there on their phones.”
Practical support
While the band’s support of Palestine has been widely recognized in recent months, Kneecap has a long association with the Palestinian cause.
In the past, the band was involved in helping raise funds to establish a gymnasium in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
The Aclaí Palestine community gym, located in Aida’s Lajee Center, was set up by Naoise Ó Cairealláin’s brother Ainle, who previously ran a gym in Cork in the southwest of Ireland. The Aida facility opened in 2020 and provides free access to the entire community.
“One of the lessons we learned in the north [of Ireland] is that activism can extend to something practical,” explained Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Móglaí Bap), “and practical support is sometimes the most worthwhile form of activism because it has an impact on people.”
Consistent with this approach, he also spoke of plans to build a community music studio in Aida. Funds for the project will be raised in a collaboration between Kneecap and Bohemians, a football club in Dublin, which sees the band sponsoring the club’s 2026 away jersey.
The white shirt is patterned with a kuffiyeh – Palestinian checkered scarf – design and features interwoven Irish and Palestinian flags.
Thirty percent of profits from sales of the shirt will go to Aclaí Palestine to build the music studio in the Lajee Center.
While paying tribute to the “mind-boggling resilience and spirit” of the Palestinian people in the face of occupation, oppression and the daily brutality of the Israeli apartheid regime, Móglaí Bap pointed to the importance of these practical initiatives and the provision of community resources such as the music studio.
“It’s something where people can go to be expressive and enjoy life and not have to just be in survival mode all the time,” he said.
Media pile on
In April, Kneecap hit the headlines when, performing at the annual Coachella festival in California, the band took aim at the genocide in Gaza. At the end of their performance, the Kneecap trio flashed up a few messages on the screen behind them.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” read the first, followed by, “it is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes.” The final message read, “Fuck Israel. Free Palestine.”
The extraordinary repercussions of the band’s actions were swift, as a political and establishment media pile on ensued.
Móglaí Bap said the band was as surprised as anyone by the frenzy which greeted its stance.
“We had done the same graphics at all our gigs in Europe and never thought it would cause the storm it did as we had done it everywhere,” he explained. “In fact, it seemed just like a normal gig, despite reports about people leaving, fearing for their safety, we didn’t see anything like that. It was actually a great concert, yet nobody talks about that.”
“But as we were on our way back on the plane from Coachella, we saw we were on Fox News and thought, ‘this is different.’”
In the weeks and months to follow, the band’s members would find themselves in the eye of the storm as the political and media establishment colluded in what Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert called a “concerted campaign” to silence the band because of its temerity to call out the Israeli apartheid regime.
The TV personality Sharon Osbourne called for the band’s US visas to be revoked. The band has been forbidden from going to Hungary for three years and a Canadian politician announced the group was banned from entering that country (although the politician in question did not have the power to impose such a ban).
The lengths to which the British establishment would go to try and silence Kneecap became evident in May. The British authorities brought charges against band member Mo Chara (given name: Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) under anti-terror legislation, over allegations that he displayed the flag of a proscribed organization at a concert approximately six months earlier.
While terror charges against Mo Chara were thrown out by a London court in September, the British authorities refused to let the case go and have appealed the court’s decision. The appeal has not yet been heard.
Móglaí Bap acknowledged that the proceedings have been an ordeal.
“It was tough, but we knew [we had to], just bear the storm and get through it,” the rapper said. “We knew we were on the right side.”
“It’s important to speak out and counter those that are trying to control the narrative – it’s a propaganda war. But this is what happens when you do speak out,” Móglaí Bap explained.
“We see the same thing happening with Bob Vylan – they’ve been labeled anti-Semitic for criticizing Israel, which is crazy,” he added. “It’s like with us, when we wrote ‘fuck Israel.’ It’s a shortened version of ‘fuck the Israeli government.’”
The British band Bob Vylan is currently taking legal action against Ireland’s RTE for defamation after the broadcaster accused the duo of leading anti-Semitic chants. The band’s chants of “death to the IDF” at the Glastonbury festival in England had actually been focused on the Israeli military, which is carrying out a genocide.
While Móglaí Bap feels that Kneecap’s stance could act as a source of encouragement to other musicians and empower them to speak up, he admitted that some would be reluctant to do so.
“If you’re in a band, you might be afraid to speak out because there are repercussions, especially if you are an up-and-coming band, dependent on small gigs – it can be a hard place to be,” he explained. “We’re established now, it’s different for us, so I would never judge up-and-coming bands.”
However, when it comes to established performers refusing to speak out, Móglaí Bap has no sympathy.
“If you’re a big artist, yet you’re getting sponsored by McDonald’s, that’s different,” he said. “There’s not saying anything, and then there’s actively supporting a group that’s on the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] list.”
As Kneecap’s profile and popularity continues to grow, it is evident that efforts to muzzle the band will not work.
“We’re in a privileged position here in Ireland, so we don’t have to remain quiet. We can use our platform to speak out. And in Ireland we have a long tradition of resistance to colonialism.”
“Huge impact”
Móglaí Bap also pointed out how even the smallest action of defiance can become an act of resistance and have an impact far greater than one might imagine.
He referred to the example set by Mary Manning, a worker in the Irish retail chain Dunnes Stores, a few decades ago. Manning and a number of her colleagues went on strike rather than facilitate the sale of South African goods during that country’s apartheid era.
“We saw how the Dunnes Stores staff and Mary Manning in Dublin during the 1980s refused to handle products from apartheid South Africa,” Móglaí Bap said. “Working class people taking action and having a huge impact. And, of course, Ireland is where the concept of the ‘boycott’ originated.”
The Kneecap rapper recalled how at the time of Ireland’s Great Famine in the 1840s – a hunger crisis exacerbated by Britain – the Choctaw Nation demonstrated practical solidarity with the starving.
“We need to remember that during the famine, the Choctaw Nation gave food to the Irish although they themselves had very little,” he reflected. “Small acts of solidarity can raise the spirits and give energy to people.”
“For so long, we saw the colonial myths about Ireland, calling the Irish backward and subhuman, and we see this same dehumanization being done in Palestine to justify mass murder and genocide against the Palestinian people,” he added.
“But, as I’ve said, we’re in a privileged position now. We have a platform and a pretty comfortable life in Ireland, so it’s our turn to speak out.”
Originally from Ireland, Roddy Keenan is a freelance journalist and author based in the UK.
