I'm reminded of something Roisin White said in a concert this weekend at the National Folk Festival about how, what with the boom time in Ireland and the Celtic Tiger stuff noone is emigrating, so there won't be any more of the emigration songs which have been the mainstay of the tradition. (It was a tongue in cheek comment - whch shouldn't need pointing out, but it sometimes does, what with the different modes of irony around the Cat. I don't want to divert the thread into a discussion about emigration and the sorrows of Erin.)