Kneecap are an Irish hip-hop trio from Belfast, Northern Ireland. It comprises Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, the stage names of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J. J. Ó Dochartaigh, respectively. They rap in a mixture of English and Irish. Their first single "C.E.A.R.T.A." ( is Irish for 'rights') was released in 2017, followed by their mixtape, 3CAG, in 2018. Their first studio album, Fine Art, was released in 2024, and a biographical film was released later the same year. Their second studio album, Fenian, was released in May 2026.
The group has been at the centre of public debates about free speech and the expression of political opinions within Ireland and the UK. Their themes focus on working class Belfast youth culture, Irish republicanism and Irish language rights. In concert, they have made statements supporting Palestinian nationalism and condemning the Gaza genocide. Their name is derived from the extralegal punishment attacks meted out by Northern Irish paramilitary groups.
Name and image The name Kneecap is a word play, referring to both the practice of kneecapping, a punishment of gunshots to the knees that Irish republican paramilitaries inflicted on what they called "political" and "normal" criminals, including drug dealers and others, as a form of vigilante justice, and the Irish phrase "" (which sounds like "kneecap him"), meaning "I don't think so". Móglaí said it is intentionally ironic that a group with the name Kneecap sings "about things that would get us kneecapped", such as drugs.
Kneecap's logo is based on the balaclavas paramilitaries wore during the Troubles. DJ Próvaí often wears an Irish tricolour balaclava in public. The Guardian wrote that Kneecap's earlier work focused on merging Gaelic identity with hood culture; in Northern Ireland, "hoods" are petty criminals and drug dealers.
The stage name Mo Chara in Irish means "my friend". Móglaí Bap refers to the singer being noted as a kid for his bowl haircut, reminiscent of Mowgli in the cartoon The Jungle Book. DJ Próvaí's name comes from the Provisional IRA.
History
Their first single "C.E.A.R.T.A." was loosely based on Móglaí Bap's experience. On the day before the Irish Language Act march in Belfast, Móglaí Bap went out with a friend of his and spray-painted the word "" on a bus stop. The Police Service of Northern Ireland found that and arrested his friend, although Móglaí managed to escape. The friend only spoke Irish at the police station, and spent a night there, refusing to speak English. Following this incident, "C.E.A.R.T.A." was written.
Their song "C.E.A.R.T.A." was banned from the Irish-medium radio station (RnaG) for "drug references and cursing" in late 2017. Fans started a petition which garnered 700 signatures to put the song back on air. Kneecap defended the song as "a caricature of life in west Belfast" and "a satirical take on life for young people, particularly in West Belfast".
The group's first full-length album, 3CAG, was released in 2018. The title references the drug MDMA: 3CAG means ('three consonants and a vowel'), slang for the substance. The release was retrospectively described in The Skinny as "an irresistible collection of raucous hip-hop that fused the Irish and English languages with a wicked sense of humour." It was retrospectively described in The Guardian as "self-aware and swaggering in equal measure as it flipped between nights on the town to the everyday reality of growing up in post-Troubles Northern Ireland."
While Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap are from West Belfast, DJ Próvaí is from Derry. He was a teacher until 2020, when he left his school after they were alerted to a video in which he had "Brits Out" written on his buttocks during a concert.
They were condemned by Belfast South Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Christopher Stalford in February 2019 after videos of the trio were posted online, showing them chanting "Brits Out" at a concert performed in the Empire Music Hall in Belfast. The concert took place the day after the then-Duke of Cambridge and Duchess of Cambridge had visited the same venue.
The trio released their single "MAM" in 2021 as a tribute to their mothers; the song was acknowledged as a shift away from their usual style saying that they wanted to do something more "real". Mo Chara stated in an interview that they wanted to show that "we can 'roundhouse' you off the stage but we can also give you a hug afterwards. We wanted to do something a bit sentimental, we don't wanna just box ourselves in with masculinity all the time." The trio also revealed on Instagram that Móglaí Bap's mother had died of suicide before the song was ready for release, and that all proceeds from the song would be going to the Samaritans.
The group began filming a motion picture in 2023, also titled Kneecap, depicting a fictionalised account of their rise to fame. Released in August 2024, the film was directed by Rich Peppiatt with Michael Fassbender in a supporting role.
They were awarded a grant of £14,250 from the Music Export Growth Scheme in February 2024, which was then blocked by the Department for Business and Trade. Business secretary Kemi Badenoch said that the grant should not be awarded "to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself." The group filed a discrimination case against the UK government, winning the case and receiving the total grant amount in November 2024. They split the grant to two youth organisations who work with Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. The band was scheduled to play at the 2024 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, but pulled out citing the festival's financial ties with the US Army and RTX Corporation.
Mo Chara was charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 in May 2025 for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag in November 2024. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 18 June 2025, was granted unconditional bail, and returned on 20 August 2025. After the hearing, Keir Starmer said their scheduled Glastonbury Festival 2025 performance on 28 June was not appropriate, to which the band retorted "You know what's 'not appropriate' Keir? Arming a fucking genocide. Fuck The Sun and solidarity with Palestine Action". On 26 September 2025, the court ruled that the charges could not proceed. Giving his ruling, the judge said: "Proceedings against the defendant were instituted unlawfully and are null." On 7 October 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service announced its intention to appeal.
Their set at Glastonbury Festival in 2025 drew a full-capacity crowd and opened with a video addressing media scrutiny. During the performance, the group led the crowd in chants of "Free Mo Chara" and "fuck Keir Starmer" and thanked the festival organisers for not yielding to pressure to cancel their appearance. Referencing his recent court appearance, Mo Chara told the audience, "I'm a free man." The BBC opted not to livestream the performance, instead releasing it later that evening on BBC iPlayer following editorial review. In response, an independent Welsh activist live-streamed the set on TikTok, attaining over 1.8 million likes. Following the set, Avon and Somerset Police stated that they were assessing video footage from the West Holts Stage to determine whether any offences had been committed that might warrant a criminal investigation. On 18 July 2025, the force announced that no further action would be taken, citing insufficient evidence to support a prosecution.
Kneecap were banned from entering Hungary for three years in July 2025. Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács stated that the band members "repeatedly engage in anti-Semitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups". Kneecap were set to perform at Budapest's Sziget Festival on 11 August 2025; Kovács said that the performance "posed a national security threat". Kneecap responded that "it's clear this is political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people." Some of their concerts in Germany and Austria have also been cancelled.
They canceled all 15 US concerts scheduled for October 2025 due to proximity to a court date related to Mo Chara's alleged terrorism charge. They instead scheduled a live-streamed concert for 10 October 2025.
Canadian MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary to the Secretary of State (Combatting Crime), announced on 19 September 2025 that the Canadian government had decided to ban Kneecap from entering the country, citing alleged support for designated terrorist groups and to protect Canada's Jewish community. Kneecap said that it had not received any official notice from the Government of Canada and was also considering legal action against Gasparro. During subsequent reporting by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, no relevant government department, official, or minister confirmed that there was a ban, and that Gasparro had acted without consulting public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree. In the first week of October, the Conservative Party and New Democratic Party, both in opposition, called for clarity on the issue and an investigation into whether Gasparro lied. In November 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that it had cancelled the travel authorization of Mo Chara in August due to "inadmissibility for omitting to disclose complete and accurate information on his application". IRCC had also instructed the other two members of the trio not to travel to Canada until they received further communication.
On 22 January 2026, mobile digital billboards began appearing in Belfast, with a phone number being promoted to "report fenian activity". The band later posted a teaser, promoting a new single titled "Liars Tale", which was released on 28 January. The link between the billboards and the band was confirmed on 27 January 2026, when another teaser was released, featuring phone calls to the number advertised on the billboards. On 28 January 2026, the band announced their third album, Fenian.
Film The 2024 biographical film Kneecap, in which the band members play themselves alongside more experienced actors including Michael Fassbender, Josie Walker, and Simone Kirby, is set in the West Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter in 2019. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 18 January 2024, being the first film in the Irish language at the festival.
In August 2024, the Irish Film and Television Academy announced that they had selected Kneecap as their official submission to represent Ireland in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards. On 17 December 2024, Kneecap were shortlisted for Academy Awards for the Best International Feature and Best Original Song with their song "Sick in the Head".
Political views Irish republicanism