Kneecap fans fly to UK to back band in court – as experts say terror case is 'pivotal' for free speech

Hannagh Inglas flew from Dublin to London last night for one reason: to show support for Kneecap. As Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh had his day in court, the first hearing over a terrorism charge, more than 200 people massed outside Westminster Magistrates Court to show support in a case which has dominated headlines.

For Inglas, who spent £160 on the trip, it was simple. “I have free will and a day of leave to use,” she told Big Issue. Of the charges, she said: “Are we surprised? They love rocking the Irish’s heads.”

Ahead of the preliminary hearing, the band rallied followers and projected the case as a wider battle against the British establishment, saying: “British courts have long charged people from the North of Ireland with ‘terrorism’ for crimes never committed. We will fight them. We will win.”

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With a landmark show at Glastonbury looming, and a potential maximum prison sentence of six months, experts told Big Issue the stakes in the case went beyond a single band and had implications for freedom of speech.

Ó hAnnaidh, known by the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town in November 2024. The band have denied the offence, said they will “vehemently defend” themselves, and raised accusations of “political policing”. They have previously issued an “unequivocal” denial of support for either Hezbollah or Hamas.

A prosecutor in court said the charge stood aside from Ó hAnnaidh’s support for Palestine, and “centres on the apparent support by Ó hAnnaidh of a proscribed terrorist organisation”.

Some in the crowd were new fans, some committed pro-Palestinian activists. Ahead of the band’s arrival, a van bearing the slogan “More Blacks, more dogs, more Irish, Mo Chara” drew cheers as it repeatedly drove past. One of those in the crowd, Iona, was missing work to “support Kneecap and stand against this utter bullshit”.

Polly Stapleton, waiting for the band to arrive, said the case had unleashed a groundswell of support. “It feels like the establishment is slightly running scared. As well they should be,” she said.

When the band arrived, cheers erupted and the crowd engulfed them as they made their way into the court.

As the hearing went on, a band played Irish songs and speakers including Brian Eno took to the stage. Fans wore football shirts, Irish tricolour balaclavas and chanted “free Palestine”. Some spilled over into the foyer of the court while the demonstration overflowed onto a traffic island in the middle of the busy central London street.

Speaking outside court after Ó hAnnaidh was unconditionally bailed until 20 August, the band’s lawyer Darragh Mackin said the charge had been brought in the wake of Kneecap’s Coachella performance, where they displayed messages including: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Mackin told the crowd: “The more they come after Kneecap the louder they will get. If the British government had any sense of history, they will know they’ve already lost.”

Kneecap have assembled a high-profile legal team who have fought successful cases on decriminalising abortion, false IRA bombing convictions, and protests including Extinction Rebellion. The team includes Gareth Peirce, who has defended Julian Assange, and Blinne Ni Ghralaigh, who appeared at the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide.

After the video of the November 2024 gig emerged, along with comments where the band appeared to say “the only good Tory is a dead Tory, kill your local MP”, Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, said the group should not be allowed to perform at Glastonbury, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch led calls for prosecution.

Addressing the crowd, band member Móglaí Bap confirmed that gig was still on, and that those without tickets could watch on the BBC. But the stakes of the case, which is yet to be resolved, range further than a single gig

“The case is pivotal as it tests whether musical artists can use provocative materials as a means of pushing the boundaries to criticise powerful political actors misusing their power,” said Ethan Shattock, a lecturer in law at Queen’s University Belfast, adding that case law showed the time since the alleged offence should also be taken into account. “In plain words, the further away in the past something is from the event, the less significant it is often seen to be.”

“This case appears less about genuine national security concerns and more about the state’s discomfort with certain voices or symbols. It fits into a worrying trend where the boundaries of dissent are being narrowed, often under the banner of counter-extremism,” a spokesperson for Index on Censorship said.

The spokesperson added that artists were not exempt from accountability, “but we must be clear: criminal accountability goes too far.”

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