I'm Wolfgang Hell from Münster, Germany, researcher and teacher at Münster University, but since a couple of months and for several more I'm the main caretaker for our 1 year old daughter (don't jump to the wrong conclusion that having such a young daughter makes me younger than the average mudcatter).
I was hooked to folk music when coming to Ireland and returning there for vacation more often than to any other country. (Perhaps it only started since the first girl that ever kissed me came from sweet Strabane). I played for some time in a not known German-Irish folk group. Now I'm collecting lyrics, background information on songs and recordings. My personal collection of lyrics is still larger than Mudcat's but I hope that changes in a couple of years. It took me some years to find out that (in the order of encountering not of today's preference) Scottish, Australian, American, Canadian and English folk music can sometimes even be as good as the Irish, when it comes to songs. But as for a Ceilidh, I see no rival for the Irish yet.

Wolfgang