The merchandising of balaclavas at a major Belfast music festival shows that “younger generations in nationalist Ireland have been taken in by sloganeering and selective amnesia in relation to murder, mutilation, and terror” a leading academic has said.

The comments came from Queen's University Belfast Professor of History Liam Kennedy, who has extensively researched and campaigned against paramilitary style attacks by terror groups on civilians in Northern Ireland.

He was speaking after the PSNI noted public concerns about the high volume of balaclavas sold by unauthorised street vendors at the recent Vital festival on Boucher playing fields, where controversial Belfast rap band Kneecap was playing.

The band is well known for singer DJ Próvai wearing a tricolour balaclava.

placeholder image — Merchandise for sale outside Belfast Vital ahead of the Kneecap gig. Picture date: Friday August 29, 2025.

Band member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, recently appeared in court in London charged with a terrorism offence after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London gig in November.

The group said their actions had been taken out of context and that the case should be thrown out because of a technical error.

In the wake of the concert on August 29 a PSNI spokesman said they were “aware of concerns raised” that some individuals attending the concert were observed wearing balaclavas.

While the wearing of such items can “understandably cause concern” police said, public order legislation relating to the issue can only can only be invoked where there is a reasonable belief that a risk of violence exists – which was not met on this occasion.

PSNI superintendent Allister Hagan added: “We recognise that the wearing of balaclavas can cause unease. However, police powers in this area are specific and can only be applied where there is evidence of a risk of violence.

“We will always take proportionate and lawful action where that threshold is met and keep this under continual review. Our priority is to keep people safe and ensure that events can be enjoyed by all.”

But Prof Kennedy said the popularising of balaclavas illustrates “selective amnesia” about the brutality of terror groups wearing balaclavas.

"The trio Kneecap seem to revel in the notoriety the term 'kneecap' implies, at no cost and considerable profit to themselves," he told the News Letter.

"Curiously, for a band that claims to be against injustice, they exploit the past suffering of hundreds of young people in loyalist and republican areas of Northern Ireland for commercial gain. Cute hoors, as they might say in some parts of Ireland.

"The merchandising of balaclavas - one of the other sinister images from the Troubles - is a further step along the road to sanitising a brutal past. Such indifference shows a failure of history and memory.

"It shows rising generations, particularly in nationalist Ireland, who have been taken in by sloganeering and selective amnesia in relation to murder, mutilation, and terror.

"Meanwhile, far from the mass excitement of the concerts and the chanting fans, the victims of paramilitary violence must go on living their lives of pain as best they can.

"Their view was that the trio were using the title in an exploitative way that showed little concern for the broken bodies of 'punishment' victims."

The News Letter previously approached Kneecap manager Dan Lambert about the concerns raised over the sale of the balaclavas.

As usual, he gave his stock answer: "There’s journalism and then there’s the News Letter Belfast. Nobody from Kneecap will be providing comment to your ‘paper’, ever.”)