By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - American rapper Macklemore vowed to continue to speak out loudly against Israel's war in Gaza at the opening of his "Free Palestine" concert tour organised after he was dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran over pro-Palestinian remarks.
The Grammy-winning rapper received a deafening ovation in Dublin, where fans in the overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian country came draped in Palestinian flags, black, red and green football jerseys and keffiyeh scarves being
sold by vendors outside.
"I am proud to stand here on stage in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We will continue to fight for collective liberation until our last breath," Macklemore said on stage, where he waved a Palestinian flag for much of his set.
"Six weeks ago, two words is all that it took," he said, referring to the rallying cry of "Free Palestine" and his criticism of the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and the West Bank at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium that led to his removal from Sheeran's US tour.
"Those two words are so threatening to some people that we'd rather silence those two words than confront what they actually mean... Somehow those words have become more controversial than the suffering that made them necessary."
The crowd, who snapped up the 13,000 tickets for Dublin's 3Arena within minutes, chanted "Free Free Palestine" throughout.
"We need a speaker for our time. It has to be somebody like that who can reach out to people. He made it feel so alive and I've come out feeling I want to be part of something," said Siobhan Lyons from Dublin, who attended the concert with her daughter.
Irish artists who have spoken out against Israel's actions played in support on Monday, including "Take Me to Church" singer Hozier, rap group Kneecap and Beoga, one of the acts who quit Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Palestinian singer Lina Makhoul and Palestinian American DJ Habibeats also performed and pro-Palestine activists such as Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham spoke between sets.
Sheeran, one of the world's top-selling recording artists, said stadium owners on the remaining dates threatened to bar any further shows with Macklemore on the bill.
Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials deny their actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
The "Free Palestine" tour will continue in Paris and London this week with US dates due to be announced later, Macklemore has said.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
