Kneecap represents

Back in the 1970s, I spent nearly a year researching what was, and is, known as the Celtic Revival in my home country, Ireland. It was a sort of renaissance of Irish culture, literature, arts and language that began around the mid-1800s . Those who, for centuries were proscribed from using their native tongue, Irish Gaelic, now embraced it and their history with the sort of pride that had waned among the Irish people during the starvation years of the recent The Potato Famine (1845 – 1852); when a million either starved or emigrated to foreign shores.

I didn’t embark on this research just to pass the time, but for the Master’s thesis I completed in 1979. I argued that this resurgence of nationalism in the arts and language helped pave the way, as an integral part, to the armed Easter Rising in Dublin, 1916 against British occupation.

It was this period, which boasted proud ownership of these cultural rediscoveries, that produced a pantheon of such well-known authors and poets as W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Sean O’Casey and James Joyce, to name but a few. Their works were ingrained with the spirit of the Irish people, and an appreciation for the history of the Gaels and the Celts, the forebears who had populated Ireland in earlier centuries. A renewed spirit of nationalism surged among the native Irish and, while moving forward, this movement also looked back in history for its themes and inspiration. Where once - during the Plantations and Penal Laws - the Irish had been stripped of not only their land and their culture; they were similarly stripped of their Gaelic language and the practice of Catholicism.

So, it was no fun being an Irish native in Ireland for many a century. Any vestige of nationalism was nipped in the bud, though a few failed rebellions were launched against the British overlords. I won’t bore you further with the historical aspect of what I set out to present, and hope you have tolerated all this so far. In short and to be specific to my intent, things Irish were all the rage among those in the cultural and literary fronts, none more important - to me and this particular treatment at least - than an interest in learning and using the Irish language. Kind of like most countries always get to use their native language all the time, everywhere. Give Ireland Back To The Irish. Thank you, Sir Paul McCartney.

What have I managed to convey in these paragraphs so far? Whether or not it is obvious, my intent in this piece is to compare the renewed interest in the Irish language throughout Ireland in the 1800s and early 1900s, with the recent resurgence of fascination with, and the practice of, the Irish spoken word. Why speak the language of the oppressor when we have a perfectly good language of our own? That’s the gist, all part and parcel of ‘Brits Out’.

This is where Kneecap comes in, the trio of Irish language rappers who have been setting much of the world on fire with their passion, talent and patriotism. Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí (stage names) present rap in a language with which scores of their fans the world over are unfamiliar, yet their rise to fame has been swift and relatively unparalleled in many a year. Anomalous? Unprecedented? Yes to both.

Belfast was the birthplace of this this movement and its resulting surge of interest in speaking Irish Gaelic. There is a thriving effort among the most passionate to speak only Irish, despite English having been pretty much the sole language of commerce, education, conversation, etc. for centuries. The lads of Kneecap fit this bill perfectly.

As a native of Belfast and, despite my advanced years, a committed and longtime fan of rap/hip hop, I have nonetheless puzzled as to the ‘why’s of this recent swell of interest in all things Irish, both in Ireland and, surprisingly, across the world. Why here? Why now?

I consulted with the oracle, my daughter. who is just a bit older than the generation whence Kneecap sprang. Her insight I think is pretty bang on. Here’s a direct quote:

“I genuinely have no idea. The only reason I can think of is there’s some sort of Irish renaissance happening in North America, because there are so many Irish actors on the rise.” Then, further, “Ireland’s unwavering support of Palestine has made a lot of Gen Z very interested in Irish history.” She goes on to observe that the Irish will take the piss out of anything. In that she’s right and, of that, my fellow countrymen are proud. Dark humor and fanaticism. This combination of deeply ingrained long, generational peculiarities goes a long way to defining the Irish personality.

Then there’s the 2024 movie, aptly titled, “Kneecap”, which picked up seven awards at BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) as well as cleaning up at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

There will be more chapters written to chronicle the career and further projects of the Kneecap trio (though not by me) and, I believe, many opportunities for the uninitiated to get a proper taste of how, surprisingly, rap and the Irish language have fit together in a hand-in-glove sort of relationship.

By the way, my daughter and I have tickets to the Kneecap show in Toronto this coming October however, though I’m game for a rave, I suspect the horde of Gen Xs and Zs and their comrades, could do without a senior citizen mucking about on their turf. Wisely, I believe, I have given my ticket to someone else, much younger.