I repeat (for the last time - I promise!). Both the "success" and "failure" of the competitive basis of Comhaltas derive from the type of community in which it developed. If CCE did not exist now, any attempt to produce something like it in Ireland - not to mention in England - would be doomed to failure. It's a child of its time and place. The ambivalence of many Irish musicians and music enthusiasts towards the organisation is just that - ambivalence. They recognise the amount of good work that has been done and regret the classic excesses to which the organisation has on occasion, gone.

Regards