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Flag of principle or fashion statement? Festival crowd flag debate rages & our writers are divided after Kneecap set

KNEECAP performed at the Glastonbury Festival in front of tens of thousands of fans chanting “Free Palestine” over the weekend.

The group’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh appeared on stage wearing his trademark Palestinian keffiyeh in front of the capacity crowd, including many people waving Palestinian flags.

Kneecap performing at Glastonbury Festival.
Kneecap performed at Glastonbury chanting ‘Free Palestine’ with fans
Guy Bell/Alamy Live News
Large crowd at Glastonbury Festival with many Palestinian and Irish flags.
Many people waved Palestinian flags at the gig
Guy Bell/Alamy Live News
Destruction of Yafa School in Gaza, displacing dozens.
Gaza has been devastated by Israel
Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images

However, the issue of political colours in festival crowds has caused controversy.

Over the years there has also been some conflict regarding flags: festival-goers either love them or hate them.

For some it’s a way to make a statement and convey a message to the crowd.

But for critics, they are nothing more than a fashionable way to get noticed.

A number of years ago, Glastonbury organisers actually consulted fans on whether they should implement a ban on flags at the festival after noticing people complaining about them.

Writing in The Irish Sun today, EMMA MOONEY and NICOLA BARDON argue both sides of the coin.

FOR – NICOLA BARDON

Woman in teal blanket in Death Valley National Park.
Nicola Bardon is in favour of the flags
Collect Through Journalist

A FEW weeks ago I was at Macklemore’s gig in St Anne’s Park in Dublin.

The crowd was awash with colour — Irish flags, Palestinian flags, Bohs jerseys in support of those in Gaza, and many, like myself, wearing the keffiyeh.

I knew I was supporting the right musician and was among the right crowd there and then.

You see in this day and age, it is easy to sit on the fence and say nothing.

That way, you can sit back and see what the outcome is and then claim that’s what you believed all along.

Or despite having millions of followers online, live in fear of what will happen if, God forbid, you say the slaughter of babies is not OK.

But I will not stand for that silence anymore.

According to Al-Jazeera, 62,614 Palestinians have died at the hands of the IDF since October 2023.

That is 11.5 times the population of my hometown.

That is more than the entire population of the county of Carlow. Or Longford. Or Leitrim.

My colleague will use words like ‘virtue signalling’ a phrase used by the far-right or basically anyone who doesn’t understand something and just thinks people who care about other people are ‘woke.’

But let me tell you, when you are watching videos from Gaza every day, babies dying without food, entire families being bombed, kids clamouring to get out of burning buildings, five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family blasted to death in a car that was shot at 335 times by the IDF, we need to do something.

We can show the world where we stand

Nicola Bardon

But we feel powerless. We feel guilty for going to gigs and having a good time when someone across the world, the same age as us, probably has not eaten in days.

So what can we do? We can show the world where we stand. We can show each other where we stand.

If that means looking across St Anne’s Park or Stradbally or Malahide Castle and seeing a pin, a flag, a jersey or hearing a chant of ‘Free, Free Palestine’ to know you are in the right company, then I will wear my keffiyeh every time.

AGAINST – EMMA MOONEY

Woman on a ferry.
Emma Mooney thinks it is ‘little more than accessorised activism’
Garrett White - The Sun Dublin

APPARENTLY a Palestinian flag is the latest must-have trend for some festivalgoers.

Where once it was socks and a bucket hat, it’s now draping yourself in a keffiyeh and hoisting the striped cloth with all the pride of US marines on Iwo Jima.

They were everywhere at Wicklow’s Beyond the Pale.

A Palestine flag makes you look up-to-date and, dare I say it, woke. It suggests that you are “on the right side of history”.

But it’s hard for me to see this as little more than accessorised activism – in other words, virtue signalling.

Is the flag less about Palestine and more about you?

Never was this more obvious than when one camp got their flag up only for one festivalgoer to cry, “it looks lovely”, followed by the inevitable selfies.

Whatever side of this atrocious war you find yourself standing on, such examples of lazy activism is in my view offensive.

Is the flag less about Palestine and more about you?

Emma Mooney

A devastating fight that’s claimed thousands of innocent lives is not an excuse to play dress up.

For me, it’s not protest, it’s performance.

I notice how such people never carry these flags while doing the weekly shop.

It seems it’s more often at highly photographed, ultra-crowded spaces they are donned.

In my opinion, you can’t say ‘free Palestine’ without saying ‘f*** Hamas’.

And it doesn’t change some of their behaviour – raving to techno on ketamine isn’t a form of protest simply because you’ve made a cape out of a Palestinian flag.

Instead, it trivialises a devastating situation and reduces it to festival attire.

But to find such behaviour distasteful is to go against “right think”.

As Peep Show tells us: “If there isn’t room here for people who stand against everything you believe in, what sort of hippy free-for-all is this?”

Real activism doesn’t require you to be at the centre of it – make donations, sign petitions, go to protests, do anything and everything you can to bring about a ceasefire, but for the love of God, take down the flag.

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Irish Love Island star becomes dad for first time and reveals baby’s name as he shares ‘beautiful’ first snaps

IRISH Love Island star Rob Lipsett has become a dad for the first time and revealed his baby’s name.

The Dublin native, who appeared on the dating show in 2017, met his wife Linda almost through mutual friends at Rob’s house party almost seven years ago.

Black and white photo of parents holding their newborn baby in a hospital room.
Instagram
Rob and Linda have welcomed their first child into the world[/caption]
Black and white photo of a sleeping newborn baby.
Instagram
Rob and Linda named their baby girl Isabelle[/caption]
Man holding a baby car seat next to a black car.
Instagram
Rob shared a snap of him with his daughter[/caption]

The happy couple went on to tie the knot at the Boho Beach Club in Marbella in 2024.

And just nine months later, Linda has given birth to a beautiful baby girl, which they welcomed into the world last Saturday on June 28.

Rob took to Instagram to share heart-melting snaps with their little bundle of joy, who they named Isabelle.

The pair looked happier than ever as they looked down at their new arrival while Linda held her in her arms in the hospital bed.

The fitness guru captioned his post: “Welcome to the world Isabelle Lipsett. 28.6.2025. Our greatest blessing has arrived!”

Rob’s friends and fans flooded the comment section with love and support.

Love Island star Greg O’Shea wrote: “Beautiful. Winning at life.”

RTE star Laura Nolan wrote: “Huge congratulations guys.”

Influencer Louis Cooney said: “Huge congrats guys. She is beautiful.”

Ally commented: “OMG OMG OMG I’m so happy for you guys. Isabelle is such a beautiful name.”

Rob also shared another picture of him holding Isabelle in her car seat while flexing his muscles.

He jokingly added: “17 years of bicep curls. All for this moment.”

The influencer thanks his fans saying: “Appreciate all the kind messages, me and Linda are honestly blown away.

“Grateful doesn’t even cover it!”

VILLA

Rob and Linda relocated to Marbella, Spain, during the pandemic and bought an incredible villa in Puerto Banús villa that came with a surprisingly low price tag.

With property prices through the roof in Ireland, Rob revealed he bought a house abroad because he dreaded getting a “bad deal” back home.

He explained: “Of course I love Ireland, I wanted to buy there first, but I can get a detached villa with four beds and a pool in Marbella versus what I can get an apartment for in Dublin, and you just feel like you’re getting a bad deal.

“I looked at a few apartments two or three years ago in Rathgar and a development in Foxrock, and they are really nice, but I would just feel  I could fly two hours away to a hot country and get a house instead for the same price.

“As much as I love Dublin, the housing market is a bit strange, to say the least, so I feel I’ve got a good deal at the moment, and in a few years hopefully I’ll look at Dublin again.”

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Maya Jama hits back at Love Island fix rumours and reveals exactly how much input producers can have

MAYA Jama has hit back at rumours that Love Island is a “fix” after fans claimed that producers are “too involved”.

The TV presenter, who has hosted nine series’ of the ITV2 dating show, insisted that the show is all “real”, despite producers “encouraging” Islanders to have certain chats.

Maya Jama speaking into a microphone during an interview.
Maya Jama has hit back at Love Island fix rumours
YouTube/The Chunkz Show
Maya Jama on The Chunkz Show podcast.
The host revealed exactly how much input producers can have in Islanders romances
YouTube/The Chunkz Show
Maya Jama on Love Island.
Shutterstock Editorial
Maya admitted that producers ‘encourage’ Islanders to have chats[/caption]

Appearing on The Chunkz Show, Maya also admitted she refuses to find out in advance who will be dumped from the villa, saying she only gets the results the same time as the Islanders.

Maya said: “I’ve never said the wrong name, but there are cameras constantly around and they like the dramatic pauses.

“There is a lot of me saying something and then it waits. It’s funny with the new Islanders, where they’re not used to me saying something and then pausing for ages and they’re all looking around like ‘is she frozen?’.

“I feel so awkward for them because they’re just standing there in their little outfits.”

Maya then explained that the producers do not create scenarios but simply “encourages” the Islanders to pull each other for a chat.

She continued: “I don’t know if it’s illegal or what but they can’t tell them what to do.

“The most they can do is encourage them to have a little chat, but it has to be real because it’s reality.”

Maya added: “I do this technique where I don’t let them tell me who’s going until I’m stood in front of them in my ear because I don’t want to stare at the person or give away.

“Literally as I say it, I find out one second before anyone else.”

It comes after viewers were shocked after axed Islander Remell appeared to suggest it wasn’t his decision to dump Poppy.

The Islander appeared on Aftersun to discuss his time on the show and managed to spark fix claims with his comments.

As he chatted to Poppy, who was also in the audience, he said: “It wasn’t my decision to dump you.”

Remell decided to ditch Poppy in favour of Alima after The Sleepover, despite sharing a bed with her and kissing her.

Those watching at home were confused by his comment, with one person remarking: “Remell has just said live on TV “It wasn’t my decision to dump you” so just told us that Love Island is just one big set up!”

A second said: “What did Remmel mean by “it wasn’t my decision to dump you” when speaking to Poppy?”

While a third added:  “What does Remmel mean it wasn’t his decision to dump Poppy? Producers pushing the agenda?  Did he let that slip?”

And another added:  “Wait.. did Remell said it wasn’t his decision to dump Poppy.”

Others however were quick to clarify what he meant – that he didn’t know she would go home if she wasn’t picked.

While other fans accused bosses of “fixing” last week’s public dumping, in a bid to get rid of Megan after all the Conor drama.

Love Island 2025 full lineup

  • Harry Cooksley: A 30-year-old footballer with charm to spare.
  • Shakira Khan: A 22-year-old Manchester-based model, ready to turn heads.
  • Megan Moore: A payroll specialist from Southampton, looking for someone tall and stylish.
  • Alima Gagigo: International business graduate with brains and ambition.
  • Tommy Bradley: A gym enthusiast with a big heart.
  • Helena Ford: A Londoner with celebrity connections, aiming to find someone funny or Northern.
  • Ben Holbrough: A model ready to make waves.
  • Dejon Noel-Williams: A personal trainer and semi-pro footballer, following in his footballer father’s footsteps.
  • Aaron Buckett: A towering 6’5” personal trainer.
  • Conor Phillips: A 25-year-old Irish rugby pro.
  • Antonia Laites: Love Island’s first bombshell revealed as sexy Las Vegas pool party waitress.
  • Yasmin Pettet: The 24-year-old bombshell hails from London and works as a commercial banking executive.
  • Emily Moran: Bombshell Welsh brunette from the same town as Love Island 2024 alumni Nicole Samuel.
  • Harrison Solomon: Pro footballer and model entering Love Island 2025 as a bombshell.
  • Giorgio Russo: The 30-year-old will be spending his summer in the sun, potentially his sister Alessia’s successful tournament at the Euros in Switzerland.

Departures:

  • Kyle Ashman: Axed after an arrest over a machete attack emerged. He was released with no further action taken and denies any wrongdoing.
  • Sophie Lee: A model and motivational speaker who has overcome adversity after suffering life-changing burns in an accident.
  • Blu Chegini: A boxer with striking model looks, seeking love in the villa.
  • Malisha Jordan: A teaching assistant from Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, who entered Love Island 2025 as a bombshell.
  • Shea Mannings: Works as a scaffolder day-to-day and plays semi-pro football on the side.
  • Caprice Alexandra: The 26-year-old bombshell owns a nursery in Romford.
  • Poppy Harrison: The bombshell broke up with her boyfriend after finding out she would be in the villa
  • Will Means: The fourth fittest farmer in the UK according to Farmers’ Weekly in 2023 entered the villa as a bombshell
  • Megan Clarke: An Irish actress part of the OG line-up.
  • Remell Mullins: Boasts over 18million likes and 500k followers on TikTok thanks to his sizzling body transformation videos.

Read More »

Teves set to be discharged from hospital on July 1 – counsel

MANILA, Philippines — Expelled lawmaker Arnolfo Teves is set to be discharged from hospital on Tuesday, said his legal counsel. In a statement, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said the former Negros Oriental representative was given clearance to be discharged from Philippine General Hospital (PGH) on Tuesday lunchtime. “He is still experiencing some abdominal pains but welcomes

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‘You shouldn’t be saying that’ – Aryna Sabalenka left ‘stunned’ after being sworn at by a child at Wimbledon

ARYNA SABALENKA was left shocked after being sworn at by a child after winning her Wimbledon opener.

The world No.1 beat Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5 on Court 1 today.

Aryna Sabalenka leaving the court after a Wimbledon match.
Shutterstock Editorial
Aryna Sabalenka was sworn at by a fan as she left Court 1[/caption]
Aryna Sabalenka blows a kiss to the crowd after winning a tennis match.
Getty
It comes after she went viral for swearing in a practice session[/caption]

Sabalenka went viral in the build-up to Wimbledon as a video of her swearing during a practice session did the rounds on social media.

After her victory this afternoon, she walked off court and kindly stopped to sign autographs for young fans.

Though she looked “stunned” after an interaction with one child.

Sabalenka was asked about it in her press conference and she said while smiling: “Yeah, he was talking Brazilian Portuguese, a little cursing stuff.

“It was because of the video of me cursing in the practice went viral in Brazil.

“I replied, ‘You shouldn’t be saying that’.

“Yeah, it was a fun moment.”

The young fan was seemingly a supporter of Brazilian 18-year-old Joao Fonseca, who took to Court 1 after Sabalenka’s win.

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And he defeated British star Jacob Fearnley in straight sets.

As for Sabalenka, she will face Marie Bouzkova in the next round.

The Belarusian is used to cruising through matches in no time and was asked about women playing best of five matches in the future.

But Sabalenka is against the idea, saying: “I think probably physically I’m one of the strongest ones, so maybe it would benefit me.

“But I think I’m not ready to play five sets. I think it’s too much on the woman’s body.

“I think we’re not ready for this amount of tennis. I think it would increase amount of injuries.

“So I think this is not something I would consider. I’ll let this thing for guys to handle.”

Wimbledon 2025 LIVE – follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19

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Anak-Anak Mafia Episod 2 Tonton Drama Video

Kepala Bergetar Anak-Anak Mafia Episod 2 TV3 Tonton Drama. Download Drama Anak-Anak Mafia Full Ep 2 Terkini Melayu High Quality (myinfotaip) Video. Watch Online Cerekarama Terkini Malay Drama Anak-Anak Mafia Episode 2 myflm4u HD Video. Kbergetar Malaysia Drama Anak-Anak Mafia Live Epi 2 Video. Terbaru Dfm2u Tonton Anak-Anak Mafia Drama Senarai Full Episod 2 Today …

The post Anak-Anak Mafia Episod 2 Tonton Drama Video appeared first on Kepala Bergetar.

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