Latest news with #LiamOgOHannaidh
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Kneecap rapper hits back at criticism ahead of Glastonbury gig
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the west Belfast trio's appearance at festival would not be 'appropriate' Kneecap's Liam Og O Hannaidh leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, through a crowd of supporters after he appeared charged with a terrorism offence (Jordan Pettitt/PA) A Kneecap star has hit back at criticism over comments about Palestine – and insisted much of the band's controversial behaviour is often a joke. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh accused critics of 'scraping the bottom of the barrel' in their opposition to the west Belfast hip-hop trio. He was speaking in an interview with The Guardian ahead of their Glastonbury appearance this weekend. Mr Ó hAnnaidh (27), who appeared in court last week charged with a terrorism offence over displaying a flag, responded when asked if the band regretted controversial comments previously made on stage. The group faced criticism following their appearance at American music festival Coachella where they displayed anti-Israel and pro-Palestine messages. Footage then resurfaced of gigs from November 2024 and November 2023 respectively, which allegedly showed rapper Mo Chara saying 'Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah' with an alleged Hezbollah flag, and a band member allegedly saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory, kill your local MP.' Referring to his alleged appearance on stage with a Hezbollah flag, over which the rapper is facing terrorism charges, Mr Ó hAnnaidh said: 'It's a joke. I'm a character. S*** is thrown on stage all the time. If I'm supposed to know every f***ing thing that's thrown on stage. 'I don't know every proscribed organisation – I've got enough s*** to worry about up there. I'm thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.' Ó hAnnaidh then went on to defend his controversial 'dead Tory' comments, for which Kneecap apologised, saying: 'Why should I regret it? It was a joke'. Kneecap's Liam Og O Hannaidh leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, through a crowd of supporters after he appeared charged with a terrorism offence (Jordan Pettitt/PA) 'Kneecap is not the story. Genocide in Gaza is' – Belfast rappers release new video demanding action against Israel He added that Kneecap's opponents 'went and combed through eight years of a career… they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel', saying that they 'took those videos out of context'. The group have claimed that their pro-Palestine stance has made them the victim of widespread scrutiny, with the rapper adding: 'The point is, that video wasn't an issue until we said 'Free Palestine' at Coachella'. At Mr Ó hAnnaidh's appearance in Westminster Magistrates Court last week, thousands of fans joined in chants of 'Free, Free Palestine' and 'Free Mo Chara' as he arrived wearing a traditional Palestinian Keffiyeh around his neck. Mr Ó hAnnaidh said he believes the rap group's pro-Palestine stance is drawing crowds to their music. 'The genocide in Palestine is a big reason we're getting such big crowds at our gigs, because we are willing to put that message out there," he added. He claims that mainstream media has tried to 'suppress that idea about the struggle in Palestine'. He added: 'We knew exactly that this (criticism) was going to happen, maybe not to the extreme [level] that it has, but we knew that the Israeli lobbyists and the American government weren't going to stand by idly while we spoke to thousands of young Americans who agree with us. 'They don't want us coming to the American festivals, because they don't want videos of young Americans chanting 'free Palestine' [even though] that is the actual belief in America. They just want to suppress it.' Kneecap are due to play Glastonbury's West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week that their performance would not be 'appropriate'. But Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said that 'everyone is welcome' at the festival: 'There have been a lot of really heated topics this year, but we remain a platform for many, many artists from all over the world and, you know, everyone is welcome here.'
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Kneecap performances ‘satirical', says rapper ahead of Glastonbury show
Irish language rap group Kneecap have defended their provocative performances as 'satirical' ahead of performing at Glastonbury this weekend. The rap trio are due to take to the West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday, just over a week after one of their members appeared in court and as senior Westminster politicians criticised their participation in the popular music festival. Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh appeared in court last week after being charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. The band were also criticised following footage of a November 2023 gig allegedly showing a member saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.' British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not think it is 'appropriate' for Kneecap to perform at Glastonbury, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she thought the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance. O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, said the videos only resurfaced after Kneecap performed at Coachella in April, where they said 'F*** Israel. Free Palestine'. Mo Chara, along with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain (Moglai Bap), and JJ O Dochartaigh (DJ Provai), said the ensuing controversies are a distraction from what is happening to Palestinians. They said they are happy to lose income and clout in order to be 'on the right side of history', and said they hoped that 'being vocal and being unafraid' would encourage other bands to speak up on Palestine. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper ahead of Glastonbury, O hAnnaidh defended their performances as 'satirical'. 'It's a joke. I'm a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I'm supposed to know every f****** thing that's thrown on stage I'd be in Mensa,' he said. 'I don't know every proscribed organisation – I've got enough shit to worry about up there. I'm thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.' Asked about the 'dead Tory' comments, he said it was 'a joke' and 'we're playing characters'. 'It's satirical, it's a f****** joke. And that's not the point,' he said. 'The point is, that (video) wasn't an issue until we said 'Free Palestine' at Coachella. That stuff happened 18 months ago, and nobody batted an eyelid. 'Everybody agreed it was a f****** joke, even people that may have been in the room that didn't agree – it's a laugh, we're all having a bit of craic. 'The point is, and the context is, it all (resurfaced) because of Coachella. That's what we should be questioning, not whether I regret things.' Ó hAnnaidh added: 'If you believe that what a satirical band who play characters on stage do is more outrageous than the murdering of innocent Palestinians, then you need to give your head a f****** wobble.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Is banning Palestine Action likely to achieve anything?
As things stand, next Tuesday the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, will proscribe the Palestine Action organisation (PA), its members and its supporters, under terror laws. The ban comes after a series of attacks on defence industry establishments and military bases, as well as large demonstrations. It's a move that is controversial and has itself provoked further protest. With the prosecution of Liam Og O hAnnaidh, a member of the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, on terrorism charges, the meaning of 'terrorism' does seem to be getting stretched... What is Palestine Action? In the organisation's words: 'Palestine Action is a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime. Using disruptive tactics, Palestine Action targets corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians.' What's the problem? They recently broke into RAF Brize Norton – with surprising ease – and set about vandalising, indeed sabotaging, air force planes, spraying red paint into the engine bays. No one was hurt, but it was the fourth such incident involving the group. Their activities, arguably, go beyond the usual definition of peaceful protest, and obviously they themselves advocate 'direct action'. It aids a potential enemy, for sure, because it hinders the UK's ability to defend itself, but it doesn't seem to fit the usual template of terrorism, which involves intentional injury to civilians (though the law includes damage to property alone as terrorism). PA's proscription places them in the same uncomfortable company as the IRA, al-Qaeda, Isis, the military arm of Hezbollah, Hamas, the Wagner Group, and the fascist National Action (but not, curiously, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps). On the other hand, the law as it stands is very broad, and counts the 'glorification' of terror acts as being in support of terrorism and therefore unlawful – hence the number of people arrested at protest rallies. The definition even includes wordless images, so destroying planes might well fall within its scope. Maybe it's not so strange, then, to see PA banned. So why are they being banned? There are two possible further explanations. First, that there are things about Palestine Action known to the Security Service and the Home Office that would justify such a move, but are not, or can't be placed, in the public domain. Briefings, for example, by Home Office personnel to the effect that Palestine Action has been funded by Iran – a suggestion that is firmly denied by PA – indicate that there might be other issues. Or it could just be a smear. The second is that it comes down to raw politics. The government doesn't want to look weak or biased in the way that it regulates such activities – the 'two tier justice' jibe. Also, at some point in the future, some PA direct action exercise could go wrong, cause casualties (to PA, military personnel, police or the public), and/or represent a more serious threat to national security. Cooper doesn't want to have to look as though she failed to take action against PA in time (and be forced to resign). What else might be done? There are numerous laws covering trespass, criminal damage and the like (some would add treason), and indeed, many very wide ones concerning terrorism that don't necessitate banning PA. These can be applied to anyone, in a proscribed organisation or not. The home secretary plainly doesn't deem them sufficient, but some other course, short of using terror legislation, could be pursued. Soon, all PA members or 'supporters' will be subject to the threat of imprisonment for up to 14 years. What will happen? Defiant, passionate, even fanatical by nature, PA people may well continue to organise demonstrations, break into arms factories, and take direct action, and will relish getting arrested, jailed – and becoming martyrs. Some MPs may join them, which will complicate matters. It's also difficult for the security services to track terrorist organisations' membership lists and supporters, and to prove an offence. In other words, individuals and small informal groups of people supporting the Palestinian cause, as they see it, could carry on regardless and undeterred, under the Palestine Action banner or not, and some will no doubt welcome getting caught red-handed.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Britain Does Indeed Have a Free Speech Problem
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the Irish rap group Kneecap should be barred from playing the flagship Glastonbury Festival, after a member of the group was charged with terrorism offenses for shouting 'Up Hezbollah, up Hamas' at a gig. By coincidence, a day after rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh appeared in court last week charged with promoting banned terrorist groups, a new law protecting freedom of speech on university campuses was greenlit by the British government. Arif Ahmed, who will police the regulations as a kind of college-free-speech tsar, issued a warning to students that they should: 'expect to face views you might find shocking or offensive…'
The Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Dump Kneecap from Glastonbury line-up demands Starmer after member of group charged with terror offence
THE Prime Minister has called for Glastonbury to axe Kneecap from its line-up after a band member was charged with a terror offence. Sir Keir Starmer said it is 'not appropriate' for the Irish hip hop group to cash in at the festival. 2 2 Rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh, appeared in court last week accused of displaying a flag in support of banned terror group Hezbollah at a gig. O hAnnaidh, 27, who goes by the stage name Mo Chara, was bailed until later in the summe r — leaving him free to play at Glastonbury. Asked by The Sun on Sunday if he thinks Kneecap should play, the PM, left, said: 'No I don't. 'I think we need to come down really clearly on this. I won't say too much, because there's a court case on, but I don't think that's appropriate.' The Belfast group are due to play the West Holts Stage on Saturday. Bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh have supported O hAnnaidh. They said at court: 'For anybody going to Glastonbury, you can see us there at 4pm on Saturday. 'If you can't be there we'll be on the BBC. Most importantly: free, free Palestine.' The BBC last night faced pressure not to air Kneecap's set, after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'It should not be rewarding extremism.' A spokesman for the broadcaster said: 'Decisions on our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.'
