IRISH LANGUAGE RAP group Kneecap have released the music video for a new single which features Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O’Donnell.

Their new single, Sayōnara, is a collaboration with Paul Hartnoll of the electronic dance act Orbital, who also appears in the music video.

The video, starring O’Donnell, who played Michelle in Derry Girls, is directed by Cavan native Finn Keenan.

Keenan also directed the music video for Kneecap’s ‘The Recap’.

In the video for Sayōnara, O’Donnell features as an exasperated desk worker who escapes from the office in a van emblazoned with “Free Mo Chara”.

Kneecap’s Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London last month to face a terror charge relating to his alleged public support of Hezbollah during a gig by the rap trio last year.

Legal argument last month related to the timing of when the charge was brought and Judge Paul Goldspring adjourned the case until 26 September, when he will decide on the issue and therefore whether the court has jurisdiction to hear the case. 

Ó hAnnaidh’s legal team argued that the charge was brought outside the six-month limit from when the offence was alleged to have been committed on 21 November 2024.

Meanwhile, O’Donnell told NME magazine that she has the “best time” filming the music video.

“Not only is it a massive banger of a track but the intense yet euphoric video is sure to be remembered,” she said.

“I was delighted to have been asked to be involved in this project especially as I am already a huge fan of Kneecap’s music and an admirer of their work overall.”

Here we fucking go 🔥

Sayōnara is out now in all the usual spots.

We've seen yis going mad for this one in mosh pits all summer...a collab between us and the legend Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.

🎥 Now brought to life with a video featuring Jamie Lee O'Donnell, just as big a… pic.twitter.com/7DLOABmQah

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) September 2, 2025

Kneecap posted a link to the music video on their social media accounts yesterday with the caption: “Here we fucking go.

“We’ve seen yis going mad for this one in mosh pits all summer… a collab between us and the legend Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.

“Now brought to life with a video featuring Jamie Lee O’Donnell, just as big a fenian.”

Meanwhile, Kneecap drew one of the biggest audiences in the history of Electric Picnic to its set last Saturday.

TG4 has made highlights of Kneecap’s Electric Picnic performance available on the TG4 Player to coincide with the release of Sayōnara.

The TG4 highlights video also features backstage interviews with Moglaí Bap and DJ Provaí, who reflect on the band’s journey from playing to around 60 people at Electric Picnic to appearing on the main stage.

Rainbow comes out as crowds watch Kneecap on day two of the Electric Picnic festival at Stradbally in Co Laois. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Before the band came out on the main stage last weekend, images projected on the big screen read: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

“They are now starving the people of Gaza to death,” added the onscreen projection.

Earlier this month, an expert UN committee declared that there is a man-made famine in Gaza.

.@KNEECAPCEOL remark that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal during their @EPfestival set, and also call out both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for their role in the housing crisis. Also say they’ll use every opportunity they have to speak out on Gaza. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/pQFtoQaaiV

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) August 30, 2025

Kneecap then accused the Irish government of being “complicit in this genocide” because “they facilitate the sale of Israeli war bonds”.

On Monday, the Israeli government published a document which revealed that Israeli bonds would now be approved by Luxembourg, rather than the Irish Central Bank.

The move came on the same day that the Irish Central Bank’s authorisation for the sale of Israeli bonds, often referred to as “war bonds”, expired.

The Central Bank’s role in the issuance of the bonds, which Israel advertises as a way to support the state at a time of war, had been a highly contentious political issue.