Belfast rap trio Kneecap has released their powerful single 'Irish Goodbye' featuring Kae Tempest, accompanied by a 12-minute short film exploring themes of grief, loss, depression, and suicide. Penned by member Móglaí Bap following his mother's death in 2020, the track is the fourth single from their upcoming album FENIAN, due out this Friday, May 1, via Heavenly Recordings, and stars Irish actors Deirdre O’Kane and Liam Cunningham.
The short film, doubling as the music video, depicts a family dealing with the implied suicide of a loved one, intercut with performance scenes of Kneecap and Kae Tempest around a table. It ends with the message 'For those we have lost and those we do not wish to lose,' dedicated to Móglaí Bap's mother, Aoife Ní Riain. Móglaí Bap (real name Naoise Ó Cairealláin) drew from old footage of his parents, reminiscing about simple moments like park walks. 'I never meant to write a song about this,' he shared on Instagram. 'It’s all the small things that you miss.' He highlighted Tempest's vulnerable contribution as a special moment and hopes the release helps listeners: 'You can’t carry this stuff around with you and blame yourself. It’s not your fault... You can deal with it. You can.' This personal milestone builds anticipation for FENIAN, praised by NME (4.5 stars) for its progressive sound ahead of its Heavenly Recordings release.