Coulter to consider political move

The Irish parliament will go to the polls this summer

By Kieron Tourish BBC Northern Ireland north-west reporter

First we had U2 campaigning against Sellafield. Then it was Sting trying to Save the Rainforests.

Next it could be Phil Coulter fighting pollution in his favourite Donegal Lough.

The singer/songwriter from Londonderry says he is giving serious consideration to running for a place in the Irish Parliament as a single issue candidate.

He was approached by the Save the Swilly Group - it is involved in a major campaign to protect the lough from fish farming.

Politics would be a new arena for Phil Coulter who is famous the world over for many hits, including The Town I Loved So well.

I'm not going to throw my hat in the ring unless I feel that I can bring something to it, unless I think that I've a good chance of winning the seat

Phil Coulter

One of his songs, Puppet on a String, won the Eurovision Song Contest.

However, Coulter would be no one's puppet if he decides on a career in politics.

He told BBC News Online: "I haven't made a decision on this, I have to emphasise that, but I'm seriously considering it.

"Over the weekend I'll sit down with my family and my associates and make a decision on it. I wouldn't be going that far if I wasn't serious about it."

Although living in Wicklow with wife Geraldine and the couple's six children, he has many links with Donegal North-East.

Important

He still has a home in Buncrana where he spent many happy years.

However, the area has very sad memories too. He lost a brother and sister in two separate drowning tragedies in Lough Swilly.

"The only thing that would attract me to it (the political arena) would be that I could draw some attention to a situation which, to me, is potentially disastrous for a natural resource, for a stretch of water, which is important to me and a lot of other people," he said.

"This previously was a glorious, unspoilt and pristine stretch of water. Now it's becoming something of a dump. What we're talking about is ecological asset stripping."

He added "Lough Swilly is an important part of my whole background. There's a great danger that if something isn't done about aquaculture development, the Swilly will be damaged irreversibly. I'd be pushing for a moratorium on aquaculture licensing on the lough."

Phil Coulter:"This issue is very, very important to me"

If Phil Coulter does decide to enter politics he will be following in the footsteps of Eurovision winner Dana, who is also originally from Derry.

She is currently an MEP for Connacht.

"If I go for this, I'm going all the way. I'm not going to throw my hat in the ring unless I feel that I can bring something to it, unless I think that I've a good chance of winning the seat.

"This is not about earning a living, this is not about lining my pockets, this is not about promoting me, this is about drawing attention to an issue which is very very important.

"Ten thousand people in and around Donegal have signed a petition asking for this moratorium on licences to be granted, asking for somebody to give some forethought to where are we going. If we don't know where we are, how do we know where we are going.

"If you listen to some of the communities around the west coast of Scotland, where aquaculture and fish farming has gone on for many years, they bitterly regret that it ever was started or that it wasn't controlled.

"And we're heading for that similiar kind of a disaster in the Swilly unless something is done about it."