Spot on, Swarbrules. People forget that it wasn't called "folk music" in the past, it was just music, and people played with whatever there was to hand.
I think the huge body of printed collections can be used in conjunction with the styles of what remains of recorded music from the turn of the last century onwards to create a new tradition. The best English fiddle players are individuals, ploughing their own furrow with whatever they can find. The same can be said for the Welsh styles, they can be reinvented with the little there remains and the imaginations of the new players. It's really quite exciting at the end of the day.
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