Macklemore’s Dublin gig puts international spotlight on Ireland

ALL EYES WERE on Dublin on Monday as Macklemore took to the stage at the 3Arena for the opening night of his Free Palestine concert series.

The star-studded concert raised funds for organisations supporting Palestinians, featuring an impressive line-up with Irish acts Hozier, Kneecap and Beoga.

Macklemore has been hitting headlines after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour following pro-Palestinian remarks during performances in New Jersey.

Since then, numerous artists have voiced their support for the Canadian rapper, including Beoga, who also withdrew from Sheeran’s tour.

Outlets from across the globe attended the concert, with Variety noting the “passionate Irish crowd that hooted and hollered for the duration of the nearly four-hour event”.

The outlet added that the “3Arena was dotted with keffiyehs and Palestinian flags” with “Dubliners young and old” attending. 

Fans gather outside Dublin's 3Arena. Getty

The Telegraph remarked that it was “fitting” the tour kicked off in Ireland, “a country where there has long been a widespread pro-Palestine sentiment”. 

“Some of the biggest cheers were given to local performers in the form of Take Me to Church singer Hozier and Kneecap the rap trio whose own outspoken support for the Palestinian cause has got them into trouble on occasion”. 

During his appearance, Hozier urged everybody to sign a petition lobbying the Irish government to allow 55 scholarship students from Gaza into the country to study.

Hozier called on the Irish government to approve visa applications for students in Gaza during a surprise appearance at the first show of Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” tour: “55 students in Gaza who are awaiting for their visas to be approved for scholarship places they earned and are waiting for them here in Ireland. And the government has no approved their visa applications… It’s baffling why it hasn’t been solved yet, but if you want to sign a petition, there it is behind me on the screen.”

— Variety (@Variety) October 26, 2026

Macklemore arranged for guest speakers to address the crowd, with Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham delivering opening remarks. 

Several celebrities who couldn’t be there showed their support with a series of videos that included messages from Mark Ruffalo, Julian Casablancas and Cynthia Nixon. 

The Guardian rated the concert five stars, remarking that “a certain infectiously giddy excitement attends the event itself”. 

“There’s something very striking about the fact that the local artists who’ve heeded Macklemore’s call to help out are evidently committed to the cause behind it,” the reviewer wrote. 

Meanwhile, trio Kneecap were heralded for a set that was “splenetic, chaotic and remarkably powerful”. 

Rapper Macklemore kicked off his 'Free Palestine' tour in Dublin, with attendees praising him and Irish artists for using their platform to make a stand https://t.co/d4vA1FVYtB

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 27, 2026

Outside the 3Arena, traders were selling fans half-Irish, half-Palestinian flags, Free Palestine bucket hats and Palestinian-style keffiyeh scarves.

“Ever since Macklemore started talking about Palestine, it makes us like him even more,” said one fan, Freya Dorrity, an 18-year-old student.

Maria Liddy, a 40-year-old in a red-and-white Palestinian-style keffiyeh scarf, said she was there “to show solidarity” with the people of Palestine, adding that “artists should never be censored in any capacity”.

The Free Palestine tour will continue in Paris and London this week ​with US dates due to be announced later. 

With additional reporting from AFP