Pól Deeds, the deputy chief executive of the cross-border body Foras na Gaeilge, was formally appointed to the post of Irish language commissioner at the end of October.
Talkback presenter William Crawley said that on Good Morning Ulster Mr Deeds said he was “not a fan of kneecap”.
The presenter said he wanted to “explore that a little bit”, saying that in recent decades there has been “no phenomenon quite like this for the Irish language” as he pointed to the global audiences the west Belfast and Derry trio play in front of.
Mr Deeds was asked where else it could be pointed to that happening, to which he responded: “Well, you can’t. And yes, there’s value in that, I suppose.
“There’s probably even more value in the amount of young people who have been encouraged to use and learn and come back to their Irish.
“In my previous role, I was the Director of Education in Foras na Gaeilge and I had quite a unique insight into just how successful that has been, as a result, by and large, of Kneecap and other recent cultural phenomena. So I’m not disputing that.
“It’s just not a way that I would seek to see the Irish language promoted.
Pól Deeds.
“But I suppose that’s more a personal view than anything else.”
Asked about collaborating with Kneecap or other bands who performs on stages in front of 45,000 kids using the Irish language, Mr Deeds added: “That’s not something that I personally have any interest in or my office would have any interest in and, when I was with Foras na Gaeilge, it’s not the kind of thing that they would promote either but there was an effect. I’m not disputing that.
“My problem with it is that it can be quite divisive and I suppose my specific problem this morning when it was brought up in Good Morning Ulster, [it] was brought up in the context of the idea of the Irish language being weaponised.
“And I suppose that’s my real problem with it. I don’t [think they’ve done that], but I think it can be used as an example of that.
“And therefore, I prefer to steer clear of anything that they do. It’s just, it’s not my personal taste. I don’t think it helps what I am going to try to do in my role.
“So, no, I don’t do Kneecap.”
The issue of outreach to people from a unionists and protestant background, who “may feel alienated from the Irish language”, was also discussed.
Mr Deeds said: “Well, firstly it’s what I want to do because it’s what I’ve always done and I’ve done it well and it’s part of who I am.
“It’s what i enjoy doing it’s not my job. My role is very clear, it’s an oversight role, it’s a monitoring role I’m here to implement the Identity and Language Act as far as it relates to the Irish language.
“However, I do want to do that because it’s what I’ve always done and enjoyed and I think there’s a need for it.
“And I think it will make my work easier as well if I can do that if I can help to support and advise people in in the broader community and especially within our public authorities, in terms of how they can see the Irish language as something that relates to them and their identity, then absolutely I want to do that.”
Kneecap was contacted for a response.