A Belfast musician is donating all proceeds from his new single to a local homeless charity.
To mark Homeless Awareness Week in Northern Ireland, West Belfast man Brendan Quinn, 39, released his new single 'Homeless' which has already had a lot of airplay across local radio.
As well as being a well-respected musician who has played gigs locally, across Europe, and even in the United States, Brendan currently teaches at a Gaelscoil in Belfast.
He's also a life-long GAA player, having played at club level with Gort Na Móna and county level for Antrim over the years.
Brendan told Belfast Live all about his new track, and the reason why he wanted to donate all the proceeds to charity.
"When you're travelling around, you're outside venues and pubs and homelessness was just staring you in the face," he said.
"People coming up and asking you for a few quid, or asking for a cigarette - whatever it was. I've always found that although a lot of homeless people are on the streets, their attitude is still very upbeat for the most part. It sort of landed on me in a way.
"I met different people when I was travelling, and had been thinking about the song, then one morning I woke up at 5am - like any crazy arts person - and it was just there in my head. I started writing the song in my kitchen at about 5am and by 11 I had it completed."
His song 'Homeless' then travelled around the world, with musical friends and family from as far away as Baltimore and Florida contributing their own parts.
Since being released, the track is really taking off, with radio play on the likes of BBC Radio Ulster and Q Radio. Seeing it gain traction, Brendan was inspired to ensure the proceeds went to charity.
He said: "The song just seemed to take off from there. As it was getting a lot of traction, I decided to do something and send all proceeds to homeless people.
"I know the Welcome Organisation do a lot of great work, so it's great to be able to give back a bit."
Proceeds from the track will go towards the Welcome Organisation to help with the costs of their new mobile unit which Belfast Live readers helped to buy.
The mobile health unit is a brand new service that aims to bring healthcare to people affected by homelessness ‘where they are at’.
The team at the Welcome Organisaiton work with healthcare professionals to deliver on the ground healthcare at hostels, on the street and at other emergency and/or temporary accommodation.
You can donate to the Welcome Organisation by texting HOMELESS to 70560 to donate £5.
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