| Director | Rich Peppiatt |
|---|---|
| Budget | €4.5 million |
| Box office | $4.9 million |
In the late 2010s, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin are part of the post-Troubles "ceasefire generation" living in the Gaeltacht Quarter of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Growing up, they learnt to speak Irish from Naoise's father, Arlo, a former republican paramilitary who faked his death to evade British authorities. Consequently, Naoise's mother Dolores has become a recluse while Arlo lives in hiding, and is disappointed with his son's hedonistic lifestyle and lack of initiative.
One night, Liam is arrested at a drug-laden party; he later outrages the police with his refusal to speak English, insisting he can communicate only in Irish. JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a music teacher at an Irish-language immersion school, is summoned to serve as an interpreter during Liam's interrogation. He helps him avoid charges and hides a notebook of Liam's that he discovers contains drugs, slipping it into his pocket.
JJ reads Liam's notebook, discovering satirical verses written in Irish. He decides to set them to music as rap lyrics, before approaching Liam and Naoise with the idea of forming an Irish-language hip-hop group, arguing that the music would be a way to promote the language to Millennials and Generation Z. Meanwhile, Liam begins a relationship with a Protestant girl named Georgia. Liam names the group "Kneecap", after the infamous punitive torture technique common in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
The trio create a track together during an all-night, drug-fuelled recording session. They start performing live at a pub and their music draws crowds. However, JJ fears the damage to his teaching career that might result from a public connection with Kneecap's confrontational and blatantly political music; resultantly, he adopts the anonymous moniker of "DJ Próvaí", wearing an Irish tricolour balaclava to hide his face during gigs. He also conceals his involvement in the band from his girlfriend, Caitlin, who is heavily involved in the campaign for an Irish Language Act that would officially recognise the Irish language in Northern Ireland.
As Kneecap grow in popularity, they face controversy for promoting anti-social behaviour and outspoken republicanism in their lyrics. A dissident republican organisation calling themselves "Radical Republicans Against Drugs" (RRAD) threaten and attack Liam and Naoise. The garage containing Kneecap's recording studio and their recorded music is bombed, and the group believe RRAD is responsible.
Facing a tight deadline to produce a new track for RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, the group break into the music department of the school where JJ works and record a song overnight using the equipment there, after which JJ announces he wishes to leave the group. The song is initially banned from the radio due to its explicit lyrics, but after Dolores organises a local protest campaign, the song is aired and becomes a hit. With his identity as DJ Próvaí now public, JJ is dismissed from his teaching job and Caitlin breaks up with him. With little left to lose and after some hesitation, JJ decides to rejoin Kneecap.
At a major gig, Kneecap publicly humiliate RRAD by playing an audio recording of its members demanding that Liam and Naoise turn drug money over to them. Enraged, an RRAD member in the crowd fires a gun and, in the ensuing chaos, Liam is apprehended by the police and Naoise is captured by RRAD. PSNI Detective Ellis, an Ulster Loyalist and Georgia's aunt, viciously beats Liam before revealing that she arranged for the studio to be bombed in an attempt to halt Kneecap's rise to fame, having previously warned JJ and Dolores of the damage it would bring. Meanwhile, the RRAD prepare to kneecap the kidnapped Naoise when Arlo appears on the scene. Initially pretending that he intends to punish his son himself, Arlo instead shoots the three RRAD members (two of whom, as he reveals, work undercover for the MI5 and the "Special Branch", respectively) and tells Naoise that he is proud of him and his music. He allows himself to be arrested, while Liam is grudgingly released from police custody.
Kneecap's music becomes ever more popular despite Protestant Unionist efforts to stop them. Meanwhile, Caitlin continues her political campaign for the Irish Language Act, Dolores is shown singing in a pub, and Georgia and other students of various ages and backgrounds participate in an Irish-language class led by JJ.