This group has generated more divisiveness than the Dixie Chicks.

As to the lip-synching and the fiddle playing not matching the fingering, I'm not sure about that. I annotated the Contradiction Reel and have been learning to play it. It's quite a lovely piece of music. I learned it from watching Mairead's fingering.

As for any one person or group being representative of Ireland, I say hogwash. There is a town in Ireland where the inhabitants can't even agree on the pronuciation of its name. The idea that any one form of musical expression or group is representative of a country is the height of chauvinism or xenophobia. Who arrogates to themselves the ability to determine what music represents more fully the country of its origin?

They tried this in the US congress a while back trying to pass a bill making the Square Dance the national dance form of America. Fortunately it was ill-advised and failed.

I say that those that claim they are more "Irish than thou" are full of it.

The CW may not be to everyone's taste and that's legitimate. But to trash it the way some have done here is indicative of their ignorance shown by specious arguments.

To have an opinion that they don't like the production or the singing is one thing but to dismiss it as being somehow inferior because it happens to be successfully commercial and entertaining with indisputably talented people working on it is more folk snobbery and limited knowledge about anything that is outside of their prejudices.

So some of you don't like it. That's cool. But to trash it by an attitude that somehow because of its popularity and high production value is the height of genuine arrogance.

I also think that personal attacks on the individuals who they don't like is not productive or educative.

Tolerance, people.

Frank Hamilton