Eurovision Song Contest double winner Phil Coulter says he will decide over the next 48 hours whether to stand in next month's general election in the Donegal North East constituency.
Mr Coulter says he has been approached by the Save the Swilly environmental group, of which he is a member, to be its independent candidate to highlight problems associated with fish-farming in Lough Swilly.
"I will be sitting down with my family and with some of my associates over the weekend to make a final decision on it, but I wouldn't be going even that far if I wasn't interested," the Derry-born composer said.
"Nothing about politics appeals to me in terms of my lifestyle or earning capacity," he added, "but I hope I could draw attention to a situation which is potentially a disaster for a natural resource as beautiful as Lough Swilly.
"The problems of fish-farming and of aquaculture generally are being ignored by the Government and by the TDs who represent the area."
Donegal North East is represented by three TDs, one of them the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid.
"The Save the Swilly group wants to know what the long-term plans for the Swilly are. This was previously a glorious and pristine stretch of water. Now because of fish-farming it's becoming something of a dump and it is nothing short of ecological asset-stripping.
"If I do decide to run, I will have to stand down a lot of my professional commitments, but if I go for this I'm going all the way. This is not about earning a living or about promoting me, it's about drawing attention to an issue where 10,000 people have signed a petition asking for a moratorium on fish-farming licences being granted.
"I'm very encouraged by the fact that for the first time in Inishowen, 35 different organisations in terms of fishing, tourism and the environment have come together on this issue. We have presented a petition to the EU.
"It's all very well for Bertie Ahern to beat the British government over Sellafield and at the same time let the Swilly become a sink for the aquaculture industry," he said.