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Macklemore pictured in a Bohemians FC jersey during his Dublin performance. Andrew Walsh/The Journal
Free Palestine Tour
‘It’s been a crazy six weeks’: Hozier and Kneecap join Macklemore for 'Free Palestine' Dublin gig
A number of acts and activists joined the rapper in the 3Arena for the evening, with a few digs at Ed Sheeran along the way.
MACKLEMORE BROUGHT HOZIER, Kneecap and Beoga to Dublin’s 3Arena for the opening night of his Free Palestine concert series on Monday. Kneecap thanked Ed Sheeran for helping to make it happen.
The Belfast trio’s pointed thank-you was one of the lighter moments in an evening of fundraising, political appeals and a line-up that felt closer to a festival than a conventional headline gig.
Hozier used his surprise appearance to urge the Irish government to approve visas for students in Gaza who have secured scholarships here, directing the audience towards a petition displayed behind him.
The concert came six weeks after Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s US tour following pro-Palestinian remarks during performances in New Jersey.
The tour’s promoter said venues had indicated they would not host concerts with Macklemore on the bill. Sheeran subsequently said the decision to remove him had been the promoter’s, rather than his.
Beoga were among the acts who withdrew in solidarity. On Monday, they were among those sharing the stage for a concert raising money for organisations supporting Palestinians.
By the time Macklemore appeared after 10pm, the audience had already seen plenty of performances, including a video performance by a children’s choir in Gaza.
“I have been blown away this entire evening. It has been a crazy six weeks,” Macklemore told the crowd.
“And we took, you know, my shortest tour of all time, which was two nights at MetLife Stadium, and we turned that shit into this moment right here.
“And how fitting that the first show would be in Ireland.”
‘Tide is changing’
The event was campaign first, concert second.
All proceeds from the event are going to organisations supporting Palestinians, including Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
Outside, merchandise sellers offered Palestinian flags and keffiyehs.
Inside, a Medical Aid for Palestinians and UNRWA stand sat opposite the concert merchandise, while appeals from organisations supporting Palestinians played on screen before the music started.
Keffiyeh-patterned fabric hung on both sides of the stage, with olive trees arranged around the instruments.
Actor Liam Cunningham welcomed the audience before Palestinian singer Lina Makoul opened the musical performances with a wordless a cappella passage.
“I come all the way from Occupied Palestine,” she told the arena.
A video performance by the Gaza Children’s Choir was shown during the evening, alongside messages from actors including Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon and Ilana Glazer.
Huge reaction when @MarkRuffalo came on screen to deliver a message at Macklemore and friends Free Palestine tour in Dublin https://t.co/2BofGANylt
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) October 26, 2026
Those who attended the event also heard from Ukrainian activist Nadia Greenspan, Palestinian-Irish artist Samir Eskanda and Palestinian-American activist Maher Joudi.
After a short performance, Beoga’s Eamon Murray spoke about the band’s involvement in Irish Artists for Palestine, recalling instructions at an earlier gig against flags and chants.
“The tide is changing,” Murray said.
“We have never been prouder to be from the country we’re from.”
Murray also referred to criticism from Alan Shatter and Graham Linehan following the band’s recent appearance on The Late Late Show.
Beoga, one of the Irish acts that dropped out of Ed Sheeran's US tour, also performed at Macklemore's 3Arena gig tonight, and referenced some criticism of their recent Late Late Show appearance. "You don't fuck with the Irish" @thejournal_ie https://t.co/757wcKbuXB
— Andrew Walsh (@AndyBreathnach) October 26, 2026
Hozier’s appeal
Hozier received one of the night’s biggest welcomes, performing Too Sweet during a set that also included an appeal on behalf of students in Gaza.
“55 students in Gaza who are waiting for their visas to be approved for scholarship places they earned and are waiting for them here in Ireland, and the government has not approved their visa applications,” he said.
“It’s baffling why it hasn’t been solved yet, but if you want to sign a petition, there it is behind me on the screen.”
Hozier made a surprise appearance at Macklemore's 'Free Palestine' 3Arena gig tonight, and called on the government to approve visa applications for students in Gaza. "It's baffling why it hasn’t been solved yet" @thejournal_ie https://t.co/WKUI5jS73T
— Andrew Walsh (@AndyBreathnach) October 26, 2026
A QR code directed the audience towards an open letter to the government.
Hozier and Kneecap were among artists who signed a letter last week urging Taoiseach Micheál Martin to intervene on behalf of the 55 students refused study visas despite securing fully funded scholarships at Irish universities.
DJ Habibeats and US hip-hop duo Dead Prez also performed before Kneecap opened their set with H.O.O.D., sending the standing crowd into motion and prompting a mosh pit.
‘More controversial than the suffering’
Macklemore’s set included water guns during White Walls, performances of Same Love and Hind’s Hall, and a change into a Bohemians jersey towards the end.
Between songs, he spoke at length about Palestinian solidarity and the attempts to silence it.
During his first address to the audience in the 3Arena, Macklemore referenced his removal from Ed Sheeran's US tour, saying that it had been "a crazy six weeks". "We turned that into this moment right here" @thejournal_ie https://t.co/yLIcHJBryH
— Andrew Walsh (@AndyBreathnach) October 27, 2026
“Because freedom that requires another person’s oppression is not freedom at all,” he said, repeating the line.
He described footage of parents pulling children from rubble and families being erased, returning to the reaction provoked by the words “Free Palestine”.
“And somehow, those words have become more controversial than the suffering that made them necessary,” he said.
“That’s why we’re here tonight.”
Macklemore also praised Irish support for Palestinians, naming Hozier and Kneecap among those who immediately agreed to take part in the ‘Free Palestine tour’ when he called.
“I called a lot of people in the last six weeks, and you know who picked up that phone right away and said yes? Hozier and Kneecap.
“I have been so proud, to watch overseas how you guys have stepped up” he said.
An encore included a song he said he had written a week earlier.
Having gone beyond the scheduled finish, he closed with Can’t Hold Us.
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