EXPLAINER: Symptoms of nasty bug 'that spreads easily' on the rise in Ireland
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14 Oct 2025
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14 Oct 2025
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Kneecap
Electric Picnic boss Melvin Benn described the addition of Irish rap act Kneecap to the festival lineup as an important statement.
He also condemned the as “absolutely shocking” the treatment of Irish band The Mary Wallopers at Portsmouth's Victorious festival.
The Mary Wallopers, whose band includes Portlaoise base player Roisin Barrett, say their set was cut off at the festival for displaying the Palestinian flag. A number of other acts refused to play at the festival in solidarity with The Mary Wallopers.
Speaking at the Electric Picnic site in Stradbally today, Mr Benn said “it was shocking what happened to The Mary Wallopers, it was absolutely shocking”. He noted that a number of acts had ended up withdrawing as a result of it.
“Adding Kneecap is really important for us. It is a really important statement and musically, they're fantastic, but in terms of what is happening in the world it is really important they are here adding their voice,” said Mr Benn.
“I will hasten to remind people that they headlined the Hazelwood stage in 2018 so we have had a long history with Kneecap and I am glad that they are back,” he commented.
“They are great kids. They are great lads. They’ve got really important songs, they are brilliant live but they have also got really important messages. They didn’t do anything wrong in Glastonbury, it is yet to be proved whether they have done anything wrong anywhere else in the world,” he pointed out.
Mr Benn said “they are on home territory here and I think they will be really relaxed and the crowd will be really appreciative.”
He was also very excited about some of the other acts who will be performing at the weekend.
“I was privileged to have been at both Reading and Leads. Chappell Roan was just off the scale as was Hozier,” he told reporters. He is expecting a similar performance this weekend, especially with Hozier being on home ground.
He also mentioned “Amble and Kingfisher just going bananas, a lot of homegrown stuff.”
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