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. 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==