The rappers were previously prohibited by TfL from advertising a poster on the Underground that featured their balaclava logo. TfL claimed it “would likely cause widespread or serious offence to reasonable members of the public”.
The new poster contains the logo and band member DJ Próvaí wearing his trademark tricolour balaclava, although the words ‘Fenian’ and ‘Keir Starmer’ are blacked out.
The Fenians were originally a band of warriors who defended Ireland in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
It also refers to the Fenian Brotherhood, a 19th century revolutionary organisation that sought the overthrow of the British presence in Ireland
The word has commonly been used as a derogatory term for Irish Catholics.
The dispute emerged after Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert shared a post online.
He said the London Underground was “only accepting” promotional posters for ‘Fenian’ with the words ‘Fenian’ and ‘Keir Starmer’ both blanked out.
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Starmer’s name appears on unredacted versions of the poster under a quote in which he described the band’s views as “completely intolerable”.
That followed a High Court decision to dismiss a terror charge against Mo Chara after he allegedly displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah onstage at a London gig in November 2024.
In response to Mr Lambert’s post, TfL said: “The redacted style of the poster reflects the version that was submitted to us for approval.
“We did not request any changes to the artwork before the current advertising campaign commenced.”
Asked if a decision had been made by an authority other than TfL, it said: “To be clear, the posters on display are the copy the band provided to us which we subsequently approved.”
Now, Mr Lambert has provided additional details about their understanding of the situation, saying media and entertainment group Global had told the band’s agency ‘Fenian’ would not be permitted.
Last year Global signed an eight-year advertising contract with TfL for the Underground.
Mr Lambert said: “The company we book underground ads through communicated that our original artwork was NOT accepted by Transport for London and the word ‘FENIAN’ would have to be removed.
“This required us provide a redacted poster — which took a full week to gain approval (way longer than usual) meaning we missed campaign deadlines.
“We were told that this hold up was TfL making the decision to approve the redacted one.”
TfL does not accept that position.
It responded: “I can confirm that neither we, nor our advertising partner, requested any changes to the adverts submitted for approval.
“We approved the adverts as submitted which are now on our network. There is no blanket ban of the term ‘Fenian’ being used in advertising campaigns on our estate.
“If it featured in an advertising campaign submitted to us, as with any copy, we would review it on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration its specific context and any guidance from the Committee of Advertising Practice.”
