"The Recap"

10 July 2025

3 mins 01s

The Recap

The furore over Kneecap, most recently visited via their appearance at Glastonbury, has consistently raised the question: why is a band from Northern Ireland so supportive of Palestine? As this excellent promo from Riff Raff's Finn Keenan observes, you have to dig into the history of the island of Ireland to gain an understanding of why the Irish republican movement has, for several decades, aligned itself with Palestine.

The history in Keenan's promo is dished up with a healthy measure of the band's trademark humour, but the passion of their performance ensures we take the messaging seriously, and understand the parallels between the suppression of the Irish people by the British, and the suppression of the Palestinians by Israel.

Kneecap are not merely attaching themselves to Palestine as some kind of trendy cause de jour of which they have no understanding as many of their critics would like to think. Kneecap are part of Belfast's 'ceasefire generation' and the band's members have a deep understanding of what it's like to live under the yoke of another nation's dominance.

Underlying all of this political messaging is the track. Even though it is performed in Irish, its righteous fury speaks to Kneecap's sincere passion for the causes they represent, and long may that continue.

UK

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