'Faux martyrs' Kneecap announce new Great Britain tour dates whilst Mo Chara faces terror case
Kneecap have been accused of promoting an image of “faux martyrdom”.
DUP peer Lord Weir made the comments as the Belfast rap trio announced a number of new tour dates across Scotland, Wales and England.
The fresh tour dates come as Liam O’Hanna, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, faces a terrorism charge relating to the alleged display of a flag in support of Hezbollah in London.
The group said their actions, including holding the Hezbollah flag, had been taken out of context. O’Hanna is contesting the charge.
The group has since made much of the prosecution; for example, its main Twitter image is currently the phrase ‘Free Mo Chara’ (even though he is free on unconditional bail), and it sells t-shirts saying: ‘WANTED: KNEECAP. By order of the British Metropolitan Police Counter-Terror Unit.’
The group claim to be victim of a politically motivated effort to silence them because of their vocal anti-Israel views.
Lord Weir is known for his support for Israel, and has previously spoken out about the band’s anti-royal antics.
Lord Weir has now said that, when it comes to the pending prosecution, Kneecap had sought to “exploit that situation for their own benefits” to “try and project this faux-martyrdom” of being persecuted.
“I think their mock outrage at their treatment, they’ve clearly turned to their own advantage,” he said of the fact a raft of new tour dates have been announced, adding that the appetite for more Kneecap gigs “shows a certain level of maybe callow and naive approach” from some fans.
He said Kneecap’s support comes from “quite often middle-class kids who want to be rebellious, and this is a great way of indulging that shallow perception of the world – it’s not been something which is unique to this age, it’s been something which has happened in the past on many occasions”.
Announcing the news of its tour today, the group – which is made up of O’Hanna, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh – shared a post on Instagram with the caption that read: ‘Here we go. We're back in November across Scotland, England and Wales to play our biggest run of shows ever.
‘All of ye can get a pre-sale link for tomorrow at 10am ahead of the masses by signing up to our mailer or WhatsApp channel.
‘The Prime Minster himself cant [sic] stop us … he could stop sending bombs to Israel but that's another story...’
The group performed to a sea of Palestinian flags during their set at Glastonbury Festival in June.
They also recently performed at Glasgow's O2 Academy in a gig which sold out in 80 seconds, after their set at the TRNSMT festival in the same city was axed after concerns raised by police.
Their tour will start in Bournemouth on November 14 before moving on to Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow.
Kneecap will also perform in London at the previously announced show at OVO Arena Wembley on September 18 (which is different from, and much smaller than, Wembley Stadium).