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(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann nua Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo.)
KNEECAP were in Japan this week, having played two shows in various venues in Tokyo, but as DJ Próvaí explained in an exclusive interview with The Journal, it was at an Irish language cultural centre in west Belfast that the world’s most famous rap group first met.
We’re in the dressing room behind the stage at the INEC, just before their second night at the Killarney venue.
Earlier that day, the crowds had been out in the town centre as two of DJ Próvaí’s colleagues, Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) and Moglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin), took part in a run for Palestine, a tradition the group has followed when they go to the same venue for a concert.
Surrounded by empty pizza boxes, the interview begins, although it’s more of a chat between old friends than a formal interview.
I have known JJ Ó Dochartaigh since the days when I was the events and marketing manager at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fíaich on the Falls Road, the heart of the language revival in that city and across the country, and he used to do the occasional concert at the venue.
JJ is a songwriter and musician of note and has always been popular for his music.
The first track to catch the public’s attention was ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’ and that is the track that the three of them came together to work on in the attic of the Cultúrlann.
Naoise and Liam provided the lyrics based on an incident where Liam was arrested after being caught putting up a piece of graffiti for language rights the night before a march for the Irish language in summer 2017. JJ used the Garage Band app on his lap top to add a beat and another friend produced a master track.
“Everything helps, no matter how small,” said JJ/DJ.
And that brings us to my part in the Kneecap story. That video of the song ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’ was viewed by hundreds of thousands on You Tube and other social media but it was not played on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta before the watershed.
I started an online petition to allow the song that brought the most attention to the Irish language to be played. This attracted over 700 signatures but more importantly a lot of publicity nationally and internationally. Here is how DJ/JJ explained the situation:
As we were saying then, you yourself started that campaign after Raidió na Gaeltachta banned the song because they didn’t listen to it before it was due to be released until just before it was due to be broadcast and then they heard the themes and the curse words that were in it and pulled it at the last minute.
“Thank God there were people like you, Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí and Dónall Mac Ruairí (broadcasters with RTÉ RnaG) and people like that who were willing to spread it and give us a platform.”
The petition accelerated the group’s growing popularity and the songs came thick and fast – ‘Amach Anocht’, ‘Tá na Baggies ar an Talamh’ and ’3CAG’ (three consonants and a vowel which is identified as a song about the drug MDMA).
The first album, Fine Art, was released in 2024 and was a great success. It was the number 1 album in Ireland in 2024 according to IMRO and was shortlisted for the RTÉ Choice award that year.
When Kneecap return from Japan they will be working on their second album so that it is ready and they will be doing a series of big concerts in Europe, Britain and the All Together Now festival on Tramore at the beginning of August.
But it is a long time since the large crowds attending their concerts that Kneecap started. They had a gig in the early days and they only had the two songs, ‘C.E.A.R.T.A.’ and ‘Amach Anocht’.
“Then, in the end, they wanted more and we didn’t have more. We did C.E.A.R.T.A again.”
Now that they are preparing their second album, Kneecap have a lot more songs, because there is a lot more going on in their lives and, like sean nós songs, the songs are inspired by the events in the group’s lives or they are stories in the form of lyrics and music.
As JJ/DJ explains, the lyrics are written by Naoise/Moglaí Bap and Liam/Mo Chara and he works on the music.
They have a lot of material for their songs. A grant they received from the British government to compose and perform music was blocked. The grant was worth £14,250 (€16,400) but Kneecap sued the UK and won the case, much to the chagrin of Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative government minister at the time.
As a reward, Kemi was mentioned in another Kneecap song, ‘The Recap’. When Kneecap won the case they split the grant between a youth group on the Shankill Road and a group in west Belfast, Glór na Móna.
If you didn’t know us, you would think it was an exaggeration and a fabrication, but when you understand, those are the things that happened.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged under anti-terrorism legislation for picking up a Hezbollah flag that was thrown on stage during a concert in London in November 2024.
The charge was dropped when he appeared in court in September because too much time had passed between the incident and the time Ó hAnnaidh was formally charged but, now, the British authorities are appealing that decision.
They say that there is a ‘significant legal matter’ to be discussed and Ó hAnnaidh will be back in court, this time at the High Court in London, next week.
Just before Liam Óg was due to appear in court in September, a junior minister in the Canadian government, Vince Gasparro, announced that the group was banned from that country.
A series of concerts had been scheduled and the group had to postpone them. They are now suing Gasparro because it has become clear that the politician had no authority to declare a ban as he did.
The Palestinian issue is important to the group. They recognise that there is a historical parallel between the plight of their people in the north and the plight of the Palestinians.
Ainle Ó Cairealláin, Naoise’s brother, has set up a clinic in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem to help Palestinians who are experiencing health problems due to the way Israel is treating them.
Do they believe that these attempts to silence them are being made because of their stance on Palestine?
“There are a couple of reasons for that, the perception we have about Palestine and the genocide that’s been going on there for a long time and, for a few years, there was nothing in the media about it and that’s now changing a little bit.
There’s a ceasefire in place but the fighting is still going on and it’s important that we keep going.
JJ/DJ is worried that the media spotlight will move from Gaza to other stories and they don’t want that to happen. So expect them to not hold back from speaking out on this and other issues.
“As we know, when you forget about a big war or a genocide that’s going on like that, they move on to some other place,” said JJ/DJ. “And before long it’ll be on our doorstep.”
Now the focus is on the second album and, as JJ/DJ says, they are a big step forward in that they are working with the most skilled producers and in the best studios in the world.
They have come a long way since they were dreaming of playing in Croke Park. “Antrim and Derry (JJ/DJ is from Derry) in Croke Park – what a day that would be!”
Teaching life
JJ/DJ was a teacher in his pre-Kneecap life – which is why he was not seen in the first video and, later, that he began wearing tricolour balaclava, an item of clothing now worn by thousands of young people.
As befits a teacher, perhaps, he is conscious of the impact Kneecap could have on future generations.
There are no other films on the horizon at the moment – the band are too busy anyway, although they have received a few requests. They will also need time at home between now and the summer.
“I also have young children and it’s important to spend time at home because it’s so easy to be away and suddenly a year is gone and they’re growing up with them,” he said.
He hopes that what Kneecap has achieved will inspire other groups and musicians to come forward and introduce the Irish language to new audiences around the world.
“If it all ended tomorrow morning, I’m sure I wouldn’t have any regrets,” he says.
“We’ll be very happy, and the next thing we know, young bands will come after us, trying to carve their own paths.”
When Oireachtas na Samhna was held in Belfast, Kneecap got the opportunity to be judges at a competition for young rappers. They realise that they’ve started something and that people are following in their footsteps
And that’s no small thing.
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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