Good Soldier Schweik said :-

< furthermore the irish concertina tradition is in danger of disappearing up its own rectum, there is too much slavish copying of ornamentation, too many people trying to win competitions by over ornamenting.and toomany people slavishly copying Noel Hill, and too many idiots who assume that there is only one way to play ITM.
that was why the late Kitty Hayes was such a refreshing change >

Hear hear !!!

Kitty Hayes was a delightful lady and a wonderful player in that old uncluttered, steady style where the tune itself really mattered.

Players these days are all trying to 'out-ornament' each other while trying to win the race to the end of the tune !

The rigid teaching of the Noel Hill method, now also taught by so many of his ex pupils, has killed off so much individuality and stifled innovation.

At Clancy week some years ago Noel was preaching at the Sat night concert and was bemoaning the loss of all the different regional styles of music in the west of Ireland, ie East clare, West clare ... etc ...

He then introduced 6 of his star pupils, none over about 18 years old, who 'trooped' on stage, each with a Jeffries under the left arm, sat in a line and all played the same tune over-ornamented and far too fast, in perfect unison with each other. Although technically skilled, nay close to 'perfect', they might just as well have been robots.

I got up and walked out before my anger & frustration got the better of me