It's important to talk about how Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh is being charged with terrorism for what can be boiled down to waving a Palestine flag and shouting phrases that, for an Irish person, aren't support of terrorist groups but are moreso that oppressors should not be supported at all. Though the second one could be debated. But I want to look at another aspect of the situation.
One thing I want to point out that you notice about a lot of the reports from British journals about this. They refer to him as "Liam O' Hana", as that's the name he was charged under. One issue with that. That's not his name.
O' Hana may be his legal surname. But his first name is Liam Óg, not Liam. The fact they changed his name when charging him is a political statement of how the Irish language is viewed under the current British government.
Regardless of what you think about what Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh said, the British courts have made a political statement about what they think of the Irish language and Irish people. These aren't just "Irish versions of names". They're our names. They're willing to strip us of our own names. The British systems in place are still willing to strip us of our culture as soon as they want to make a point.
It's not surprising that we are seeing this first hand with an Northern Irish singer who is against the occupation of Ireland and Palestine. Do not let this be normalised.
