Why did Macklemore choose Dublin as his launchpad for ‘Free Palestine’ tour?

DUBLIN — The Guinness is flowing at Peadar Browns, a bustling pub in the historic heart of Dublin, as fans celebrate a big win for their beloved soccer team. But a closer look reveals there’s more than a love of the beautiful game and Ireland’s iconic pint that brings this crowd together.

At one table, a couple of fans wear jerseys emblazoned not with Celtic F.C.’s logo, but that of “GAA Palestine,” the Gaelic Athletic Association’s branch in the occupied West Bank, which organizes games for Palestinian children. At another table, a man surrounded by his family holds up a “Bank of Palestine” shirt. The words “Saoirse don Phalaistín,” or “Freedom for Palestine,” adorn the wall outside the pub, along with a re-creation of Handala, a cartoon image of a boy that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian struggle.

“The Irish people and the people of this pub have always stood firm with the people of Palestine,” said Aidan Brown, the owner of Peadar Browns, named in honor of his late father. The images from Gaza during Israel’s yearslong military assault after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks were “sickening to see,” he said.

Many in the pub share this sentiment, saying they’re proud their local has become a hub of pro-Palestinian support.

Aidan Brown, co-owner of Peadar Browns pub, inside the pub with a framed Celtic F.C. T-shirt behind him in Dublin, on Monday.Natalia Campos for NBC NewsThose feelings stretch well beyond Peadar Browns. Pro-Palestinian flags, murals, signs and graffiti dot Dublin’s city center, reflecting a deep solidarity rooted in parallels many in Ireland see with their own experiences with British colonial rule, displacement, partition and struggle for self-determination. While Israel’s offensive that has devastated Gaza has prompted outrage in Ireland and around the world, the affinity felt between the Irish and Palestinians runs deep and predates the war by decades.

So it came as little surprise here that American rapper Macklemore chose Dublin to launch his sold-out “Free Palestine Tour” — with the proceeds of the event to be donated to organizations supporting Palestinians and the Palestinian cause.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAnxiety grips Russian men over fears Putin will launch a stealthy draftFOR SUBSCRIBERSThe cruise of a lifetime was one thing — getting home after its abrupt end is its own adventureFOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge orders Trump administration to hand over list of alleged noncitizen votersFOR SUBSCRIBERSCouple recalls ‘terrifying’ moment ICE officer punctured their car tireFOR SUBSCRIBERSMin Jin Lee considers the promise of educationFOR SUBSCRIBERSHow an explosive ad upended Ohio’s midterm electionsFOR SUBSCRIBERSA force awakens at LA28 as Kathleen Kennedy steps into new roleFOR SUBSCRIBERSParties take different paths in closing TV ads for Senate racesFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy broadcaster Ernie Johnson isn’t retiring completely: ‘I’m not built that way’FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Sen. Jon Ossoff builds race lead, Georgia governor candidates vie for his backersFOR SUBSCRIBERSAnti-Muslim rhetoric crescendos at the end of the heated Michigan Senate raceFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy health and sleep experts oppose permanent daylight saving timeFOR SUBSCRIBERSAlaskans to decide on keeping ranked choice voting amid Senate race sagaFOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP former Sen. John Sununu seeks distance from Trump in New Hampshire comeback bidFOR SUBSCRIBERSOhio legislators alarmed by Medicaid fraud crackdown’s impact on disabled peopleSlide 1 of 1For SubscribersFOR SUBSCRIBERSAnxiety grips Russian men over fears Putin will launch a stealthy draftFOR SUBSCRIBERSThe cruise of a lifetime was one thing — getting home after its abrupt end is its own adventureFOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge orders Trump administration to hand over list of alleged noncitizen votersFOR SUBSCRIBERSCouple recalls ‘terrifying’ moment ICE officer punctured their car tireFOR SUBSCRIBERSMin Jin Lee considers the promise of educationFOR SUBSCRIBERSHow an explosive ad upended Ohio’s midterm electionsFOR SUBSCRIBERSA force awakens at LA28 as Kathleen Kennedy steps into new roleFOR SUBSCRIBERSParties take different paths in closing TV ads for Senate racesFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy broadcaster Ernie Johnson isn’t retiring completely: ‘I’m not built that way’FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Sen. Jon Ossoff builds race lead, Georgia governor candidates vie for his backersFOR SUBSCRIBERSAnti-Muslim rhetoric crescendos at the end of the heated Michigan Senate raceFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy health and sleep experts oppose permanent daylight saving timeFOR SUBSCRIBERSAlaskans to decide on keeping ranked choice voting amid Senate race sagaFOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP former Sen. John Sununu seeks distance from Trump in New Hampshire comeback bidFOR SUBSCRIBERSOhio legislators alarmed by Medicaid fraud crackdown’s impact on disabled peopleSlide 1 of 1“It has been beautiful to watch the Irish people come together these last three years,” Macklemore, a Washington State native whose real name is Ben Haggerty, told a roaring crowd at the opening show Monday night. “I have been so proud to watch overseas, to watch how you guys have stepped up.”

Ireland’s Chief Rabbi, Yoni Wieder, told NBC News he worries that Irishness and support for Palestinians have become connected, which can make some members of Ireland’s Jewish community — composed of around 2,700 people, according to the World Jewish Congress — feel isolated during a time of rising antisemitism worldwide.

“It sometimes feels as though for some people, support for Palestine has become intertwined with their Irish identity itself. As though being Irish means identifying with the Palestinians, while sympathizing with Israel is somehow un-Irish,” Wieder said.

For some seven or eight centuries, what is now the Republic of Ireland was under complete English and British control. Land confiscations, discrimination against the Irish, restrictions on the use of the Irish language and a devastating famine defined those times and remain on the forefront of the public’s consciousness.

Partition in 1921 saw the island divided into Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom. While the south eventually became the Republic of Ireland, graffiti in Dublin city center calling for “Brits out of North” is a reminder that there are those on both sides of the border who hope the entire island will one day be unified under the republic.

With Britain having held the Palestinian Mandate before the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, many in Ireland see parallels between the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Unionist-Loyalist struggle that for decades consumed Northern Ireland.

Macklemore kicks off sold out ‘Free Palestine’ tour in Dublin02:11“Colonial rule and the experience all of that comes with gives us this almost predisposed sense of solidarity with other oppressed colonized people,” said Brendan Ciarán Browne, an associate professor at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Religion.

The Hamas-led October 7 attacks, in which some 1,200 people in Israel were killed and 251 taken hostage, prompted outrage and condemnation in Ireland, with then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemning them as “appalling.” He also warned that any response should be carried out in a “proportionate way.”

“I fear for the people of Gaza,” he said at the time.

Since then, more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, with much of the territory reduced to rubble. More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began more than a year ago. At least four Israeli soldiers were killed during the same time.

A mural reading “Freedom for Palestine” in Irish Gaelic, in Dublin on Tuesday.Natalia Campos for NBC NewsIsrael has been accused of genocide in a case brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, with a United Nations commission of inquiry, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, making the same accusation, along with a number of human rights groups. Both Israel and the U.S. have vehemently denied those allegations. Israel rejected the commission of inquiry’s findings as “distorted and false,” labeling them “scandalous.”

In 2024, Ireland joined Spain and Norway in formally recognizing the state of Palestine, a largely symbolic move that infuriated Israeli officials who said it would encourage terrorism and instability. The following year, Ireland joined the genocide case against Israel.

“As a country which has suffered famine, colonization and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasized the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict,” Irish President Catherine Connolly told visiting President Donald Trump last month, according to a statement released by her office.

The statement, which did not mention Israel by name, said she had “conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalization of war and genocide can never be accepted.”

Stickers expressing solidarity for Palestinians plaster the walls of Brown’s pub, along with flags, shirts, signs and the sweeping mural outside the pub, which has become a favored meeting spot for activists.

Aidan Brown, co-owner of Peadar Browns pub with his wife Muyu Li.Natalia Campos for NBC NewsOne group of local activists launched Ireland’s “Stop the Game” campaign, which demanded Ireland boycott its soccer matches against Israel in the Nations League in recent weeks, drawing protests and worldwide headlines. On Sunday, they met in one of the rooms upstairs to plan their next steps.

Irish celebrities have also been among the most outspoken in support of Palestinians, including actor Liam Cunningham, who was among those to speak at Macklemore’s show, “Bridgerton” actor Nicola Coughlan, and hip-hop band Kneecap, which has repeatedly courted controversy over its political stance.

Irish literary phenom Sally Rooney recently announced she was being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the United Kingdom over her support for Palestine Action, a protest group banned by the British government.

Irish readers rallied behind Rooney as the news broke, according to Louisa Earls, who owns the Books Upstairs store in Dublin. She said sales of the author’s books surged after the announcement, with the bookstore donating the proceeds from some of those sales, thousands of euros, to the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.

“We support Palestine and ‘Free Palestine,’ very much in keeping with the country as a whole,” Earls said.

But Brown and others acknowledged, not everyone has been happy with the pub’s support. He said at least one person had complained about the mural outside the venue, triggering an effort by the City Council to see it removed.

On the world stage, Ireland is known for its comparatively strong pro-Palestinian stance, with the Irish parliament this year passing a bill banning imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Support for the Palestinian cause around Dublin.Chantal Da Silva / NBC NewsWieder, Ireland’s Chief Rabbi, said there had been a “very worrying increase in incidents of hostility towards Jewish people,” in Ireland since Oct. 7, 2023, including reports of children being bullied at school.

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, a body representing the Jewish community in the country, said a total of 143 incidents considered anti-Semitic were reported in the six months to January 2026.

“I think hostility towards Israel has become so deeply embedded in Irish public discourse that it increasingly spills over into attitudes towards anything associated with Israel, including sometimes towards Jewish people and institutions,” he said.

“That said, I think it’s important not to exaggerate the situation,” he added. “We have a wonderful Jewish community in Ireland, and Jewish life continues to flourish despite the challenges.”

Israel has repeatedly condemned Ireland’s support for Palestinians and closed its embassy in Dublin over what its Foreign Ministry branded the “extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government” after Ireland moved to recognize Palestinian statehood in 2024.

The Israeli Embassy in London and the X account for Israel’s former embassy in Ireland did not immediately react to Macklemore’s tour, or the ongoing support for Palestinians seen in that city, as well as London and Paris.

Meanwhile, many within Ireland’s pro-Palestinian movement feel the Irish government isn’t doing nearly enough.

“I don’t think our government has done a lot, realistically,” said Brown, noting that Ireland is still one of the world’s biggest importers of Israeli goods.

In 2024, Ireland ranked as the world’s second-biggest importer of Israeli goods, according to The Irish Times, citing the U.N. trade database, Comtrade.

After working for more than three decades as a radio and television producer at RTE, Ireland’s national broadcaster, Betty Purcell said she felt compelled to use her voice as a retiree to advocate for Palestinians. So she became a volunteer media officer for the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the country’s largest and oldest such organization.

“The population as a whole are far more vocal and committed on Palestine than the politicians,” Purcell, 70, said.

Betty Purcell, above, and a Palestinian mural outside Dalymount Park in Dublin on Monday.Daniele Hamamdjian; Natalia Campos / NBC NewsA 2024 poll by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine, a coalition of civil society organizations, trade unions and experts, found that 71% of people in Ireland agreed that Palestinian people live under a system of apartheid implemented against them by Israel.

Around 62% were in favor of the European Union imposing sanctions on Israel similar to those imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

“What is happening, I saw with my own eyes, was apartheid,” said Purcell, who said she traveled to the occupied West Bank on a trip organized by the YMCA to help Palestinians pick olives in 2014 after retiring early from RTE. She said she witnessed settler violence against Palestinians harvesting their olive groves firsthand.

“When I came back, I said, ’This is for me,’” she said. “I’m going to dedicate the free time I now have … to getting justice for the Palestinian people.”

Ahmed Salah says he deeply feels this support.

“We’re lucky to be in Ireland in these times,” said Salah, 29, who opened a restaurant named after his hometown, Bethlehem, in the West Bank with Ihab Salah and Mohammad Salah, his brothers, in 2020.

Ahmed Salah, left, with his brothers Ihab and Mohammad in Dublin last week.Chantal Da Silva / NBC NewsSpeaking over the chatter of crowded tables in the busy restaurant Sunday night, he said that in Ireland, he and his siblings have felt not just sympathy, but also understanding.

“Some people look at Palestinians as victims,” Salah said, speaking over the chatter of the crowded eatery. “Irish people … they understand the situation much better.”

Adnan Shabab, the Palestinian owner of nearby restaurant Shaku Maku, where Macklemore was spotted dining Sunday night ahead of his show, shared similar sentiments.

“The Irish people understand the struggle,” said Shabab, who is originally from Gaza and whose loved ones there live in a crowded tent camp in Khan Younis. “The yearning for independence, sovereignty, statehood.”

“Ireland has always been a friend of Palestine — and we will always remember that,” he said.

Adnan Shabab, 56, inside his restaurant Shaku Maku in Dublin on Monday. Natalia Campos for NBC NewsShareAdd NBC News to GoogleChantal Da SilvaChantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.