The Irish hip-hop and rap trio from Belfast are set to perform at the park on August 15 this year
The Irish hip-hop and rap trio from Belfast are set to perform at the park on August 15 this year(Image: WireImage)
A Greater Manchester MP has called for Kneecap to be ‘dropped’ from their upcoming Wythenshawe Park gig alongside Fontaines D.C.
The Irish hip-hop and rap trio from Belfast are set to perform at the park on August 15 this year. The group are known for speaking out against the war in Gaza, and recently performed to a sea of Palestinian flags during their set at Glastonbury Festival in June.
The trio recently performed to a sea of Palestinian flags during their set at Glastonbury Festival in June.
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The group also recently performed at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, in a gig which sold out in 80 seconds, and were due to perform at TRNSMT festival in Glasgow – but their set was axed after concerns raised by police.
MP for Bury South Christian Wakeford has since written to Manchester City Council calling for the band to be dropped from the Wythenshawe gig in August.
The move comes after Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May with a terrorism offence relating to allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, during a gig in November 2024.
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A police investigation was also launched after a video has emerged of the west Belfast trio at a November 2023 gig appearing to show one person from the band saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”. The Met later said the Irish group would not be prosecuted for the alleged comments.
Mr Wakeford wrote in the letter to council leader Bev Craig: “As you will be aware, a member of the group was recently charged with a terror offence for allegedly displaying support for a proscribed terrorist organisation.
“There is also open evidence of the group calling for the murder of MPs, a view completely incompatible with our core British values of democracy, tolerance and respect.
“The Prime Minister and other senior politicians from across the spectrum were clear that Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury this year was not appropriate, and that they should not have been allowed to spread their messages of hate to tens of thousands of people.
“It is therefore completely inappropriate that Kneecap is allowed a platform in Wythenshawe to amplify such views any further, especially in a region with one of the largest Jewish populations in the country.
“In Manchester we are proud of our diversity and community cohesion – the message Kneecap seeks to spread is in direct conflict with those shared values that have been hard won over decades of dialogue and openness between our communities.”