Jim Carroll has told me of this thread and I'll be happy to give answers to specific questions. I don't much like many of these songs but they need to be exposed and discussed; they are made and used by people who, however misguided and afraid they may be, have qualities of endurance and kindness that should be commended. The interesting thing about the songs is that, while many are extreme in their politics, culturally - in the tunes they use and the verse and rhyme forms - they are four square Irish.

I'm flattered by the comments; some will be pleased to know that I've not been ill. As to my having vanished off the face of the earth, I've merely departed Portrush and Northern Ireland for Galway where they are paying me for doing what I'd probably be doing anyway.