Inside and outside the Kneecap courtroom: Film directors, The Fields of Athenry, and a few police
Rónán Duffy
reports from London
The Journal
/ YouTube
MARYLEBONE ROAD IN central London is a busy thoroughfare on any morning, but today a section of it was completely thronged, thanks to Kneecap's ability to draw an audience.
The crowd was noisy and numbered in several hundred – but confined as it was to the path and the area immediately outside Westminster Magistrates' Court, from within it, it felt like more.
There was some pushing, given the numbers and the tight space available. A small but visible police presence prevented the protest from spilling over onto rush hour traffic.
Around the corner, there was a much larger fleet of police vans, presumably on standby, but the full contingent was not required or deployed.
'Spancil Hill' and 'The Fields of Athenry'
Outside the court building, there was even a stage erected to provide the tunes. 'Spancil Hill' and 'The Fields of Athenry' got an airing before the mic was handed to high-profile solicitor Darragh Mackin, once the legal business of the day was done.
Kneecap's Moglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) also addressed the crowd and attendant media to big up the band's upcoming –
and, in the UK, controversial
– performance at Glastonbury.
'For anybody going to Glastonbury, you can see us there at 4pm on the Saturday.
If you can't be there we'll be on the BBC, if anybody watches the BBC. We'll be at Wembley in September. But most importantly: free, free Palestine.
Smoke bombs were let off as Kneecap exited the court.
TheJournal
TheJournal
The man of the moment, Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), did not speak outside,
speaking only briefly inside the court to confirm his identity
.
Inside the packed courtroom, such was the number of journalists that media spilled over from the press benches to the public gallery, there were no spare seats once the hearing began.
Also in the public gallery were Mo Chara's bandmates and their manager, Daniel Lambert, who were seated with film director Trevor Birney, who produced the Kneecap film.
Film director Jim Sheridan was also in the public gallery. Speaking to
The Journal
, Sheridan said he 'knows the lads', meaning Kneecap, after attending their gigs and meeting them at the Irish Film and Television Awards.
Sheridan directed In The Name of the Father, about the Guildford Four miscarriage of justice, which featured Emma Thompson as human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce.
Peirce is now a member of Kneecap's legal team and Sheridan said that knows her too.
The Journal
/ YouTube
Ó hÁnnaidh is being prosecuted under the anglicised name O'Hanna and chief magistrate Paul Goldspring referenced Ó hAnnaidh's Irish name.
Goldspring said that unsuccessful attempts were made to have an Irish language interpreter present in court today but that 'we'll try and sort one' for the next court date on 20 August.
Ó hAnnaidh's team confirmed that he speaks English but said it's his second language, and they therefore formally requested an interpreter for the next hearing.
Northern Ireland-based Irish-language coalition An Dream Dearg had members both inside and outside the courtroom supporting Mo Chara.
The hearing was delayed by almost an hour such was the chaos that greeted the band's arrival.
Ó hAnnaidh arriving at court today.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
A van emblazoned with the words 'More blacks, more dogs, more Irish, Mo Chara' did laps of the area, drawing cheers each time it passed by.
The arrival of Kneecap was heralded by a post on their Instagram stories which said they were '20 mins away a chairde Gael'.
Given the traffic and general madness of the entire scene the band arrived bang on 10am and had to force their way through the crowd of protesters and media to the glass doors of the court building.
Mo Chara was wearing a keffiyeh scarf around his neck and dark sunglasses.
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The third member of the band, DJ Provaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh), was wearing his trademark tricolour balaclava and was able to wear the balaclava inside the court building for a number of minutes before a member of security told him he would have to remove it to walk through the metal detectors.
About 20 people spilled into the building along with Kneecap, while about 50 more were content with staying in the narrow foyer between the metal detectors and the doors.
The scene outside the courthouse as Mo Chara arrived.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The Met Police inside the building kept a distance from the scrum, although they reminded supporters that there was strictly no photography allowed inside the building.
The actual hearing lasted about 15 minutes and was adjourned until 20 August, when both sides will present arguments relating to a dispute over the jurisdiction of the court.
The dispute relates to the time period between the date of the alleged offence on 21 November 2024 and Ó hAnnaidh being charged in May 2025.
Brenda Campbell, for Ó hAnnaidh, said his team would be arguing that the charge was brought outside the six-month limit and that if this is found to be the case the prosecution would fall.
The judge agreed that this would be the case should the defence win the argument on the disputed dates.
During the hearing, the allegations against Ó hAnnaidh were summarised by prosecutor Michael Bisgrove, who said: 'It's not about Mr Ó hAnnaidh's support for the people of Palestine or his criticism of Israel.
'He's well within his rights to voice his opinions and solidarity, as is anybody else.
'The allegation in this case is a wholly different thing and deals with a video recording showing that, in November of last year, Mr Ó hAnnaidh wore and displayed the flag of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah'.
Outside
Rónán Duffy
/ X (Formerly Twitter)
After the hearing, Kneecap emerged from the courthouse when Mackin took to the makeshift stage.
There, Mackin framed the case as one about freedom of expression.
'Oppression fears the freedom of expression, but the reality is Kneecap will stand up for freedom of expression and defend not only their rights but the rights of artists all around the world,' he said.
Do not be afraid, we are on the right side of history. Fifty-one people were shot an killed yesterday in Gaza as they queued for flour.
'If the British government had any sense of history, they will know they have already lost.'
Many people present at today's protest expressed similar sentiments, saying the case was about the right to freedom of expression and freedom to protest.
Several referenced the fact that while Mo Chara is getting significant publicity for the charges he is facing, other pro-Palestine protesters are facing similar charges – and are being held on remand in some cases.
Pepper, from Essex, attended the protest with her friend Kiki.
'It's really important to protect the right to free speech and standing up against the genocide in Palestine, especially with the pro-Palestine prisoners right now.
'Activists in general are getting criminalised and called terrorists for no reason. Meanwhile, the UK government is getting away with so much, so many war crimes. They're complicit and actively participating in the genocide,' Kiki said.
Kiki and Pepper from Essex.
The Journal
The Journal
Pepper, said they were both fans of Kneecap and had been to see them at the Wide Awake Festival in London a few weeks ago.
'We wanted to be here to not let Mo Chara go down quietly or let this slip under the radar, because that's not fair.
'It is completely hypocritical, considering all the time, effort, and money that's going into it. I'm really happy everyone showed up today to make an example of how ridiculous it is, and to highlight what we really need to be focusing on,' she said.
Andrea Torrejon, originally from Spain but now living in the UK, said Kneecap were targeted after they
spoke out at Coachella
and people then 'dug up' clips from a concert months before.
'I think the fact is they were trying to bring up stuff that happened last year, just because they dared to speak out at a concert, a concert where other people also spoke out,' she said.
'They went through Twitter, they went through everything. It makes no sense, and it's really worrying not just for them, but for everyone.'
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