You only need to look at the controversy surrounding Kneecap’s appearance at the Coachella Music Festival to recognise that free speech has been and continues to be a contentious issue.

Nonetheless, in democracies we recognise the principle of free speech as a central tenet of our way of life.

So, why are we seeing freedom of speech being curtailed in the likes of Germany and the US?

Mary Lawlor is UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. She joins Seán to discuss.

Image: Kneecap