"I'm not lying, Jim"
You are deliberately distorting the relationship between Irish music and the Arts Council.
"The state-funded folk-show in Ireland"
After a long, hard slog The Arts establishment has finally recognised the social, cultural and historical importance of traditional music and, certainly up to the current economic downturn, is funding its progress totally and unconditionally without interference.
You're sneery summing-up of their involvement leaves me (and has in the past) with the impression that you are suggesting that it is they who is calling the tune - it is not - Irish music is being fundeed for what it is - an important piece of cultural heritage; this includes both in performance and research.
We have just learned that they have given another extremely generous grant towards the publication of a collecction of essays on folk song, and the only condition - that they are acknowledged in the publication for having done so.
"Goddess" like performances"
What struck me last month about Peggy's performance was an audience, most of whom would never have seen her live before, actually enjoyed what she did. Somebody we spoke to actually told us that, thanks to her reputation, she hadn't expected to and only came along because "there was nothing worth watching on tele" - she asked us where she could get a copy of one of the ballads.
MacColl and Seeger made an enormous contribution to British and American folk song and were respected for having done so, even by people who didn't like them very much. Your loaded language reduces their contribution to that of 'personality', a commonplace in today's revival.
It seems to me that you go through life belittling the work of others - maybe to disguise the fact that your own offerings are as meagre as they are (see - we can all deal in nastyisms when we put our minds to it)
Jim Carroll