Donegal musician shines light on defective concrete block crisis

A musician from Glenfin is releasing a song inspired by families that have been affected by the defective block crisis.

Lorcan Donnellan, also known as Lorc D, is an indie-folk singer-songwriter and producer releasing his new single, Mica (Forgotten Place), on November 6.

Now living in London, Lorcan said he was inspired to create the song after a family member of his discovered their home had defective blocks.

“I wrote the song after my cousin got mica in his house,” Lorcan told Donegal Democrat. “It’s happened to someone I know personally and closely. I don’t think I made a huge effort writing the song, but it just sort of seems to come more naturally.”

Lorcan said he was also partly inspired after hearing of a letter written by a young girl whose family is experiencing defective concrete blocks in their home, leaving them displaced.

“She didn’t really understand the reasons that her father’s moods were changing,” Lorcan said. “She wasn’t understanding why he was acting quite differently during the summer when he's usually so full of beans, and at the end of the letter she mentioned that she doesn’t understand why they have to leave her home.

“I wanted to tell it from that point of view; I didn’t want to write a political manifesto or anything, I wanted to focus on that personal aspect of it.”

The final lines also nod to Donegal’s reputation as Ireland’s “forgotten county” and its lack of a rail connection, something Lorc D sees as symbolic of the distance many people in the county feel from the decisions that shape their lives.

“I think there are a lot of people who haven’t heard of this, which ties into the song,” he said. “I mention the lack of a train line in Donegal, and the song’s name is Forgotten County. I think that aspect of it speaks to the broader feeling of Donegal kind of being left to fend for itself a bit. The forgotten county.

“That’s the feeling I’ve had for years and years; it has seeped into the song a lot, I think. I don’t intentionally put these things in, but I guess whatever you’re feeling yourself will sort of naturally come out if you’re writing truthfully.”

A music video will also be released for the song, which Lorcan says is inspired by the young girl's letter.

“Me and my friend have been working on a music video,” he said. “We were able to convince people to get involved with it and the process quite easily once they listened to the song, which was great because people heard the song and they’d be like, ‘I want to be involved in this because this is important.’

“I feel quite passionate speaking about it and singing it; I just think Donegal is such an amazing place… it’s a never-ending well of inspiration.”

Lorcan’s song, Mica (Forgotten Place), will be available to listen to on streaming platforms.

Lorcan’s music is available to listen to on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music, as well as TikTok and Instagram.