My apologies FH - you are almost certainly right; it was probably near 30 years (how time flies)
We've talked (and recorded) numerous musicians who have been turned out of pubs when they tried to start a session, and we can remember when the only music on offer was C&W and 'ballads nightly"
There were exceptions of course - West Clare (where we now live) has always had good sessions, certainly from the late sixties. We've been recording singers and musicians here since 1972
Jim Carroll