Kneecap posts video clip quoting from 'immortal' IRA man Bobby Sands just hours after Canada bars group for alleged glorification of terrorism

The Canadian government said on Friday it had banned rap trio Kneecap from entering the country over allegedly "glorifying terrorist organisations" with the band announcing they will take legal action against the "wholly untrue and deeply malicious" accusations.

Soon afterwards, the band’s Twitter account posted a message saying: “Ben Jamal from @PSCupdates stood beside @MassiveAttackUK before our show last night and proclaimed ‘be inspired by the words of the immortal Bobby Sands’”.

The message ended with a love-heart symbol.

Accompanying it was a video from one of Kneecap’s gig’s showing a keffiyeh-clad Palestine activist addressing a cheering crowd with the words: “Be inspired by the resistance of the Palestinian people and their refusal to be erased.

"And finally, finally, be inspired by the words of the immortal Bobby Sands who said: ‘Our revenge will be the laughter of our children’.”

Sands was a member of the Provisional IRA who was jailed after blowing up a furniture showroom and opening fire on a police patrol in Belfast, and killed himself on hunger strike in 1981.

By the time of his arrest in October 1977, the PIRA had murdered roughly 750 people.

Kneecap is made up of Naoise O Caireallain, Liam O’Hanna (also known as Liam Og O hAnnaidh), and JJ O'Dochartaigh.

They have repeatedly hit headlines this year, including in April when footage emerged that appeared to show a band member saying "Up Hamas, up Hezbollah " at a gig;

In June when their Glastonbury Festival set was investigated by police who later said they would be taking "no further action" after O Caireallain called for people to start a riot (a remark he retracted);

And when O’Hanna appeared in court charged with the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a show.

On Friday, Canada's parliamentary secretary for combating crime announced in a video on social media that Kneecap have been deemed "ineligible" to enter the country.

Vince Gasparro said: "Recently, the rap group Kneecap has engaged in actions and have made statements that are contrary to Canadian values and laws that have caused deep alarm to our government.

"The group have amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas .

"These are not expressions of art or legitimate political critique, they are dangerous endorsements of violence and hate.

"Notably, one member of the band is currently facing terrorism related charges in the United Kingdom .

"Criticism of foreign governments is protected under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, however advocating for political violence, glorifying terrorist organisations and displaying hate symbols that directly target the Jewish community are not protected forms of expression and will not be tolerated by our government.

"That is why, as parliamentary secretary for combating crime, I am announcing that effective immediately the members of Kneecap have been deemed ineligible to enter Canada."

The trio responded with a statement on X, titled "A message to Vince Gasparro", in which they announced legal action and said they will "beat" the politician in court.

They said: "Your comments about us are wholly untrue and deeply malicious. We will not accept it.

"No member of Kneecap has been convicted of ANY crime in ANY country EVER.

"Whilst you outrageously try to claim we are antisemitic 'the Times' newspaper in England today wrote of our headline show in London last night as 'emphatically anti-sectarian'.

"We have today instructed our lawyers to initiate legal action against you.

"We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusations to silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel.

"When we beat you in court, which we will, we will donate every cent to assist some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza."

They also posted a message to their Canadian fans, saying that Canada's immigration/eTA (electronic travel authorisation) authorities requested information from them which they provided on Thursday, adding: "It is our view that when they realised there was no legal basis on which to stop us that they today, via Vince Gasparro, sought to maliciously misrepresent Kneecap.

"We have played in Canada many times with zero issues and a message of solidarity and love.

"We are sorry we cannot be with you next month but we will not be silenced and will always oppose genocide."

It comes after a performance at London's Wembley Arena on Thursday in which the trio addressed Donald Trump's state visit to the UK, including with a message displayed on the wall before the start of the show which read: "Starmer welcomed Isaac Herzog to this city like a king last week.

"Today Trump is here, the man who permits the slaughter."

"When we beat you in court, which we will, we will donate every cent to assist some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza."

O’Hanna will return to Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 26, after his legal team argued the case should be thrown out due to a technical error in the way the charge was brought against him.

He denies the charge of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation.