I don't think you are far off the mark, Maryrrf. What made Dylan the poet laureate of his generation was that he was in tune with the times. I believe that Woody Gutherie is probably responsible, in some measure, for Bob Dylan. Much of what Woody wrote was protest music (include This Land Is Your Land in that) designed to call attention to what needed correction in our country. Dylan was influenced by this. Some of his best creations came out of these times in the early 60's. The times were changing, in a big way, and his music, his poetry, reflected that.

I believe that questions such as these don't serve much purpose, other than to stimulate conversations. Neither I, or anyone else, knows if Dylan would have been what he is if her were Irish. But to answer the question, my opinion is that he would not have been what he is today. He might have been a pretty good writer of Irish Rebel songs though.

Mick