My first visit to Ireland was maybe about 2003. Martin Ryan took me to a couple of sessions in Dublin. One was a singing session in a pub near the Guinness Brewery, in an area that was suffering gentrification. The singers were terrific old guys - Frank Harte himself was there. But the youngish bar crowd made so much noise that I had trouble hearing the singers.
Then Martin took me to an instrumental session. Almost all of the players were young (under 30), and almost half were Asian. But hey, the music was great.

My second visit to Ireland was in 2012. I went to singarounds in Bray and in downtown Dublin, and saw Martin Ryan and George Henderson and a number of other people who were at least familiar with Mudcat. Were those sessions the Real Thing? I don't know, but does it really matter? They were the most wonderful part of a very enjoyable trip. I hope I can do it again.

A few years ago, I went on a pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, and Santiago. An Irish tour group were staying in our hotel in Fatima, and they had a singaround in the hotel bar one night - it was delightful. And I have to say it felt more like the "Real Thing" than what I experienced in Dublin.

I'm not sure "real" is the determining factor for me. If people get together to make music and have a wonderful time, that's what's important to me. And that happened in every single Irish session I've attended, so I feel privileged. On top of that, it was delightful to spend time with Martin and George and so many other wonderful people. And the beer was good, too.

-Joe-