Derrytresk concert to highlight Lough crisis

A NIGHT of music and song is taking place in Derrytresk Community Centre this Friday (September 29) to highlight local concerns over the Lough Neagh algae crisis.

Organised by members of the Derrytresk community and Tyrone People’s Dáil, it will feature artists such as musicians Niall Hanna, Pol Mac Aidam and Dungannon singer Deaglan Arthurs.

The concert comes at a time when campaigners claim Lough Neagh is ‘dying’ from pollution after years of neglect.

Chairing the event will be Patricia Campbell, former chair of Lough Neagh Fishermen Association, who has been a passionate campaigner for the UK’s largest freshwater lake for over 20 years.

She said, “Change always come from the grassroots. It is events like this, organised by local grassroots people that raise awareness and find solutions.

“Lough Neagh is in need of our help and we need to link up with environmental protectors from other areas, such as the SOS campaign, and remember that it’s all inter-linked. Water is constant, rivers are the veins of the earth, they continue to run and eventually arrive in the Atlantic Ocean. This is not only a national issue, it’s a global issue and we need to learn from other globally successful water and environmental protectors.

“The SOS environmental protectors are doing just that as they are liaising with environmental protectors across the world.”

There will also be a number of speakers at the concert in Derrytresk, including members of SOS and Lough Neagh fisherman Gerard McCourt.

Niall Bowen (TPD), co-organiser of this event, said, “There is no force on this planet which is stronger than a united and organised working class. Anywhere in the world, when natural or unnatural disasters strike, it is left to the working class to organise and heal the wounds.

“We are facing an unnatural disaster in our own land brought about by greed and indifference.”

The event is due to start at 9pm.