IRISH folk band Beoga have said the decision to quit Ed Sheeran's tour after Macklemore was dropped was a 'no-brainer'.
The band, who were serving as Sheeran's backing band on the Loop Tour, were among all of Sheeran's support acts to pull out after Macklemore was axed for expressing his support for Palestine.
Despite quitting the tour, Beoga said they are still in touch with their friend Sheeran and suggested they were open to discussing the reasons for their decision with him.
The band were speaking on The Late Late Show on Friday, where they performed an amended version of their song Up that included the words 'Free Palestine'.
They were the same words used by American rapper Macklemore when he expressed his support for Palestinians during a show supporting Sheeran at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last month.
The star, who is also of Irish heritage, was subsequently dropped from the remaining tour dates after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft rallied other owners.
Despite missing out on the lucrative tour, members of Beoga said while it was a difficult situation to be caught up in and manage logistically, it was a simple decision to leave.
"It wasn't a walk in the park anyway, I can tell you that much," said singer Niamh Dunne.
"It was a tricky thing to navigate for sure.
"I think it was something that we never foresaw being in the middle of and we had to navigate it as it came at us."
However, she added: "The decision itself was quite easy, it was kind of a no-brainer."
Her words were echoed by Bodhrán player Eamon Murray, who said: "We all jumped on Zoom one day and it was like, 'We can't go and sacrifice all our morals'.
"That was never an option."
He added of Macklemore’s axing: "That was just a line in the sand that we couldn't cross so when it came to silencing anybody — and particularly anybody calling for an end to the genocide that we're seeing — our minds were made up, we were straight home."
'That's what terrifies a lot of the establishment'
Dunne confirmed they had been in contact with Sheeran and will continue to do so but said the priority was standing up for their beliefs.
"It's more important for us that we do the right thing and that we leave the door open to anybody at any stage that wants to come and understand why we do this, why we fight for this, why we believe in this," she said.
"We as a band and as individuals have always stood up for justice and we will continue to do that and nothing will change that."
Both Dunne and Murray also said the reaction to Macklemore's words from those in power was disproportionate while the support he had received had been played down.
"We were all there. We all went out to watch the show and to be honest, for me, I agreed with everything he said," commented Dunne.
"It didn't feel particularly radical to ask that we don't bomb children and that we don't kill children.
"There was actually a lot of support for what he said in the stadium, which I'm not sure has been reported to the extent that we felt it anyway.
"There seemed to be a lot more support than anything else."
Murray added: "Anybody advocating for a free Palestine that's silenced like that, we were shocked really.
"But you see how powerful the lobbies are in America and how easy it is for someone like Robert Kraft to lift the phone and have him [Macklemore] removed from seven shows."
He continued: "There was an overwhelming cheer in the stadium and I think that's what terrifies a lot of the establishment, that most right-minded people just think what they're seeing every day is just an absolute horror and it seems to just be getting worse."
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