Reactionaries and other supporters of genocide hate Kneecap with a rare passion. That is their loss. Fenian, which was released earlier this year, contains two bona fide masterpieces in An Irish Goodbye and Palestine. Their live shows, as they demonstrated in front of 20 000 people in Crystal Palace on June 27th, have a rare energy. They are now metaphorically watching the bodies of their enemies float past them on the river.

I saw Kneecap’s first ever London show (not that I am bragging) in a room above a pub. While I thought they were as exciting as the early Ramones must have been live, no one could have predicted that a few years later they would be playing a huge venue in the imperial capital.

More than that, circumstances have made them prominent advocates against genocide, defenders of civil liberties and a thorn in the foot of every genocide enabler in Irish and British politics and the music industry. Not bad for three self-described Fenian c#unts from west Belfast. It is a word they use interchangeably as a term of affection to their audience as in “we love yiz, ye Fenian c#nts” and more conventionally when describing the likes of Trump or Netanyahu.

Belfast is shortly hosting Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and in a way Kneecap hosted Fleadh Cheoil na Londain as a taster. I arrived too later for Gurriers and Madra Salach, though I am seeing them later in the year. Fat Dog didn’t do much for me, but they had a large group of energetic fans up the front and that is really all that matters. They were the only English act on the bill.

The Mary Wallopers

Dundalk’s Mary Wallopers are magnificent live but do make you worry about the professional skill of the town’s hairdressers. Two things seriously impressed me. The first was singer Charles Hendy’s Inglan is a bitch T shirt. 98% of the audience and all the musicians who performed were born well after Linton Kwesi Johnson recorded the track. The second was the loud cheers for the uilleann pipe solos. They are not everyone’s jar of porter, but I do love their sound.

A Mary Wallopers show is a joyful and exuberant thing and their musical influences can be seen from space. It is a safe bet that they grew up with lots of early Dubliners albums. They are every bit as political as Kneecap and early on expressed firm views on Musk and Netanyahu, much to the unanimous approval of the crowd. Within a few minutes much of the field was dancing and singing along joyfully.  They are touring shortly to promote their new album, though unless you enjoy getting jostled by hundreds of good natured, slightly drunk people doing an ersatz version of Irish dancing, try to get a seated ticket.

Kneecap have had quite the year. There was the Glastonbury phony controversy, malicious press campaigns and an attempt to throw Mo Chara into prison on terror related charges. On the plus side, Keir Starmer disapproved of them which is a surefire sign they must be doing something right.

Fans of Starmer, and there must be some,  were in short supply in Crystal Palace. Certainly, no one attempted to storm the stage to rip down DJ Próvaí’s, “fuck Keir Starmer” poster. As much as a concert, the show was a political demonstration. There were loads of people wearing keffiyehs, pro-Palestine shirts and badges. This was 20 000 members of the Palestine movement in a London park showing that they are impervious to pro-genocide lies and propaganda.

That said, there was one bewildered chap who matched his tiocfaidh ár lá headband with a Michael Collins shirt which would have guaranteed him a kicking in a recent historically literate past.

The musical and emotional highlight of the evening was Móglaí Bap’s (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) performance of an Irish Goodbye. There may be people who’ve heard it a couple of hundred times and don’t still get choked up by it, but I am not one. It is Ó Cairealláin’s song about his mother’s suicide and it was apparent that performing it distressed and uplifted him. The real punch in the gut came when Kae Tempest joined the group on stage for the final section of the song.

Kneecap seem unstoppable at the moment. They have defeated the British state in its own courts three times, they have developed musically and are playing to the biggest crowds of their career without compromising a single principle. That is pretty good going.