Irish language group launches legal action after being "blocked" from British funding

Kneecap - the Irish language rap trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí - claims its application for music funding was independently approved and then blocked by the British Government.

“We’ve just been informed that our application to the ‘Music Export Growth Scheme’ (MEGS) was independently approved and signed off by selection board,” Kneecap said in a statement on X on Thursday, February 8.

"It was then blocked directly by the British Government who overruled the independent selection board.

"We’re told that our 2019 ‘Farewell to the Union’ Tour Poster pissed off the Tories.

“Once again the British government is trying to silence voices from West Belfast - once again it will fail!”

The trio, who offered “fair f–ks the artists who got the funding,” signed off their statement saying “fight censorship.”

The Irish Times reports that a spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch, the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary, responded on Thursday, saying: “We fully support freedom of speech, but it’s hardly surprising that we don’t want to hand out UK taxpayers’ money to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) also told The Irish Times: “As the delivery partner of MEGS on behalf of the UK music industry, the BPI is disappointed at the government’s decision not to approve a grant to the band Kneecap after our independent selection board had voted for it as part of the latest round of funding applications.

“The public funding element of the scheme makes it appropriate for colleagues in government to have a say on any grants awarded by the MEGS Board, and it has been their decision alone to decline the application made by Kneecap’s representatives.

“While it is for government to speak to its rationale for making this particular decision, we firmly believe in the importance of freedom of expression, including artistic expression, and look forward to discussing further with government how any decisions involving potentially controversial matters will be handled in future.”

Kneecap said on X later on Thursday: "It should be remembered that we must pay taxes to the tory government even though we oppose their presence in Ireland.

"Removing artists from funding due to their political beliefs…classic coloniser stuff.

On Friday, the Belfast-based human rights solicitors Phoenix Law confirmed it had been instructed by Kneecap and that it had put Badenoch “on notice that her decision is unlawful, and legal proceedings will follow.”

Darragh Mackin will be representing Kneecap in the legal action alongside Joe Brolly and Ronan Lavery KC, the law firm said.

Elsewhere, Colum Eastwood, head of Northern Ireland’s Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said on Friday that he would be raising the matter in British Parliament.

“Art should be challenging and no one should be subject to discrimination on the basis that they support Irish Unity,” Eastwood said

The controversy comes less than a month after Kneecap’s semi-autobiographical film “Kneecap” had the dual distinction of being the first Irish language film to be selected for the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the first non-US film to ever be selected for the festival’s NEXT section.

At the festival, “Kneecap” landed a distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics and also won the Audience Award for the NEXT Section.