Paddy Kielty's Late Late Show on RTE criticised by Ann Travers for politically 'one-sided' guests after interview with republican rap trio Kneecap

The comments from Ann Travers were sparked specifically by the appearance of the Belfast rap trio Kneecap on the Late Late Show last Friday night.

She voiced concern about the direction of the show, saying that it seemed to be growing politically "one-sided".

The most recent edition of the show on Friday night saw a performance by Kneecap of their song 'Better Way to Live' (featuring Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten), followed by an interview with the group.

The Irish-language rap trio (who have referred to English as “the language of the oppressor”) are explicitly republican, and flirt with slogans like “Brits out!” and paramilitary trappings.

• Kneecap: Who are Belfast's republican Irish language rap trio and why are they labelled controversial? A breakdown of the group's background, lyrics and antics

• 'You couldn't make it up': Good Friday Agreement negotiator Reg Empey reacts to fact that the manager of republican rap crew Kneecap is a former Irish diplomat

For instance one member, DJ Provai – pronounced Provie, like Provisional IRA – always wears a tricolour balaclava and offered one to Paddy Kielty during the interview, urging the host to put it on (he declined).

Mr Kielty introduced the trio by saying that they recently "rode into the Sundance Film Festival on top of an RUC Land Rover" (they didn't – it was a mocked-up PSNI one, though Kneecap still refer to the force as the RUC despite it having disbanded in 2001 when they were children).

The host added that the group "have been described as offensive by unionist politicians” (though many others, ranging from Alliance leader Naomi Long to psychiatrist Philip McGarry, have also spoken out against them).

Mr Kielty asked: "Does controversy follow you around, or is there a wee bit of you looking for that?"

Rapper Mo Chara replied: "There's obviously some things we do that are controversial by nature.

"Like for example in Dublin, if there was a young person speaking Irish or whatever, it's normal reality... but up north, whenever we decide to have a group that's in Irish, it's by some reason political."

He went on to say that he had more in common with working-class people of any community than with "rich people in Dublin" and concluded that "a workers' revolution is the way forward".

Through his balaclava, DJ Provai condemned sectarian division, saying: "We're at a time now where people can do these things peacefully, and they don't have to revert to the old sectarian [sic]...

"People back in the 20s and stuff used to live in the same streets and they played with each-other.

"Then this kind of whole rhetoric that it's 'them against us' started and it just created mayhem really, so we're trying to bring us together instead of dividing."

Guests on the previous edition of the Late Late Show had included Northern Irish actor Stephen Rea, the ex-husband of IRA killer Dolours Price, and Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O'Neill.

Ann Travers' sister Mary (a 23-year-old west Belfast school teacher, who was herself fluent in Irish) was shot dead 40 years ago this April by the IRA as the family left mass, and today Ann works for victims' advocacy group the South East Fermanagh Foundation.

On the subject of Kneecap, she told the News Letter: "As somebody who considers herself to be Irish, whose sister was murdered by the IRA, I just [think]: Why are you so one-sided?

"I just think you're seeing just one side of our history, and it's not so simple as they are portraying.

"For all of us who've suffered through the Troubles and experienced pain and loss, it's still with us.

"It doesn't matter whether we experience it from loyalist terrorists or republican terrorists. It's still with us.

"And it's really difficult when you hear young people coming up behind us and they only have one point of view."

She voiced “huge respect” for Mr Kielty (who took over as host last September), but added: "I have to say, I'm very disappointed with RTE in how they've been dealing with the Late Late Show.

"I know Patrick Kielty is only the presenter of it. But there are producers in there who are deciding on who the guests are, and if you're going to invite nationalist guests from Northern Ireland then you also need to invite unionist guests and have balance on it.

"It hasn't been like that, and I find it very sad."

A spokesperson for RTE said: “The Late Late Show covers a broad range of topics, stories, people, views and features subjects from across various sections of Irish society.”