Donegal creators come together to show reality of defective concrete block crisis

Donegal musicians, artists, and actors have come together to tell the reality of the defective block crisis.

Lorcan Donnellan, from Glenfin, has officially released his new music video for his single Mica (Forgotten Place).

The music video was shot in locations around the Finn Valley area, including Glenfin, Ballybofey, and Drumkeen.

Lorcan, now living in London, was inspired to write Mica (Forgotten Place) after a family member of his discovered that their home had defective blocks.

The music video is also inspired by a real-life event after Lorcan heard about a letter written by a young girl whose family is experiencing defective concrete blocks in their home, leaving them displaced.

“The song was based around this father-daughter relationship,” Lorcan told DonegalLive. “The second verse in particular is told from the perspective of the daughter watching the deterioration of her father, alongside the deterioration of the home they grew up in.

“With the fight for redress still ongoing, that is why this all felt so important. It felt so important to bring this to a new audience because the mica scandal, the defective concrete block scandal, is not that well known outside of Donegal.

“It felt quite powerful to be involved in something that we all cared about so much because we all absolutely adore where we’re from.

“It’s such a shame that this is happening and people are still having to fight for some decent compensation.”

Lorcan and the music video director, Matthew McGowan from Ballybofey, crossed paths while attending St Columba’s College in Stranorlar.

“We’ve been friends since then, and obviously I follow his music career, and he sent me the track, and he asked me if I was interested in doing the music video,” Matthew said.

“I wrote the song and listened to it back and could nearly see the images and the story progressing visually,” Lorcan said. “I just felt like Matthew was the perfect person to do this with, and I don’t know if I would have done it at all if it wasn’t for him.

“I think that everyone involved had some sort of affiliation, or was from Donegal; that was something that tied it all together. The days we had doing them were just so much fun, I’d do it all again tomorrow.”

The making of the music video and the song involved multiple artists and creators from Donegal, including Hannah Ryan, who played the violin, Jason Deery, who played the bass, and Jordan Hannigan, who played the drums.

Additionally, Lorcan and Matthew give thanks to local businesses for their help in the production, including Bonner’s Bar in Ballybofey, Póca Productions based in CoLab Letterkenny, and Drumkeen mechanic James Gallagher.

“The song was one thing, and you’re trying to paint a picture,” Lorcan said. “The video really does bring to life the intimate connection and a familiar feeling. The fact it’s all based in Donegal as well makes it feel very real.”

“The video was made with really good spirit,” Matthew said. “Everybody who was involved really wanted to be involved and believes in the song or the message and feeling around the whole thing.”

Mica (Forgotten County) is available to listen to on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.

The music video, released today, is available to watch on Lorc D’s YouTube channel.