Richard Hogan: Kneecap spoke poorly-chosen words but Netanyahu has killed 50,000 Palestinians

A recent UN study found that 70% of Palestinians killed in residential buildings were women and children. Shouldn’t this be the real source of outrage?

Richard Hogan: "When I studied history and saw images of concentration camps, I wondered: How did the world let this happen? How? We know now. People turned away." Picture: Moya Nolan.

I was 16 when I watched Sinéad O’Connor slowly tear up a photo of the pope live on US television. I remember thinking, ‘Why does she hate the pope so much?’ Of course, I understand now what she was protesting against. It was an incredibly dramatic and performative moment from which her career never fully recovered.

When we think about the remarkable talent that was Sinéad, we think of that moment and her strength in speaking for those who had no voice in our society. She was a singular singer, and a loss sorely felt in today’s world of manufactured music.