"When traditional music becomes about professional musicians moaning about not being able to get a booking, rather than than its exponents choosing what is best for it, it has no future"
Jim,no one in this thread has moaned about getting bookings, why are you introducing a red herring into the discussion?
Jim,your quote here
"rather than than its exponents choosing what is best for it" really? what you in fact should have said for accuracy sake, is this" when a few exponents who happen to organise irish singers clubs decide what is best for the future of it".
in my opinion, there is a similarity between CCE and some organisers of IRISH SINGERS CLUBS.CCE had/have rules about perfomance of harmony with irish traditional songs. Irish singers clubs have rules about accompaniment with irish tradtional songs.
you have in the past used Brendan Breathnachs quote about CCE "an organisation with a great future behind it"   
When traditional music stops evolving then it has no future.
The fact is that if Margaret Barry AND Pecker Dunn were alive today and turned up at most irish singers clubs, these tradtional singers would not be allowed to perform with accompaniment.
Margeret and Pecker would undoubtedly have choice words to say to those people running the clubs many of whom are not traditional singers but singers of tradtional songs, or on occasions singers of recently written songs written in a particular "traditional style"