Only 1 member of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap barred from entering Canada: Immigration Department

The Immigration Department has banned only one member of the controversial Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap from entering Canada, it told CBC News in a statement, contradicting a Liberal MP’s claim in September that none of them would be let in.

It’s the first time Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has publicly commented on the cases of the three men since Vince Gasparro, parliamentary secretary for combatting crime, published a social media video two months ago saying “effective immediately, the members of Kneecap have been deemed ineligible from entering Canada.”

Gasparro accused the band of support for organizations on Canada’s terror list, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Since that video was posted online, Immigration Minister Lena Diab, the IRCC, and other departments and members of cabinet have said they couldn’t discuss individual immigration profiles due to privacy concerns. 

However, the IRCC provided an update after each band member signed a consent form confirming they were willing to have their statuses revealed to CBC News. 

In its statement, the IRCC said the band members had obtained electronic travel authorizations (eTAs) to travel to Canada in March 2024, valid until 2029. 

It said the eTA of one member, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was cancelled this past August due to “inadmissibility for omitting to disclose complete and accurate information on his application.”

At the time, Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was facing a terror-related charge in the United Kingdom for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag onstage during a November 2024 concert.

A London court threw out the prosecution in late September, stating he was charged too late.

The IRCC statement did not specify whether Ó hAnnaidh’s missing information was related to the criminal case.

The IRCC said the applications of the other two members, James John O Dochartaigh and Naoise O Caireallain, are “under review” and that in September, “they were informed not to travel to Canada until receiving further communication from IRCC.”

Kneecap had been scheduled to perform in Toronto and Vancouver in October. In August, the group announced it was cancelling 15 shows in the U.S.

Three days after Gasparro published his video, the band’s manager, Dan Lambert, told CBC News in an interview that Kneecap had received no instructions not to travel to Canada by anybody other than the MP.

CBC News has reached out to the IRCC, Kneecap and Gasparro for further comment.