Phil Coulter makes plea for Donegal lough

But he also launched a scathing attack on other parties for failing to stand by a campaign to save Lough Swilly.

Residents and fishermen on Lough Swilly have been highly critical of the Department of the Marine for issuing licences for fish farms in the area.

They claimed the farms has depleted other fish stocks.

Some fishermen blame the farms for pink flesh appearing in plaice stocks in the lough and some fish suffering lesions.

Mr Coulter, who has worked with Billy Connolly, Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor and the Bay City Rollers, said he was backing the Greens because they had stood shoulder to shoulder with the 'Save the Swilly' campaign.

“We have been asking the current crop of politicians to address the issues affecting Lough Swilly but nothing has happened,” he complained.

“Candidates such as the Green Party’s Peter Doran in Inishowen represent a good alternative. The Green Party is unapologetic about its commitment to the environment and to genuinely sustainable development.

“The message to this Government and indeed to the next government is that Lough Swilly, its environs and its people are precious.

“We must not tolerate any further abuse. It is time the entrenched interests in Donegal County Council were given a wake-up call.”

This isn’t the first time Mr Coulter has backed an election candidate over his stance on the 'Save the Swilly' campaign.

Two years ago during the General Election, the writer of ‘The Town I Love So Well,’ ‘Congratulations’ and Eurovision winner ‘All Kinds of Everything,’ endorsed Labour’s Jackie McNair in Donegal North East.

There had been speculation that Mr Coulter would seek a Dáil seat but he refused to enter the race.