Thanks Peter. That sounds rather similar to what we now have here in the UK, where folk clubs no longer dominate the scene but alongside them we also have house concerts, more formal concerts on both large and intimate scales, festivals large and small, and a large number of instrumental and mixed sessions, which largely go under the radar. Much as I enjoy a good folk club, I think from what you describe that the Irish situation shows that they are not essential to having a lively folk scene.