John, with respect you seem to have misunderstood my point. No doubt Comhaltas can be criticised for many things. What it is unlikely to be criticised for is not being "diverse" enought because it does not encourage the playing of music from other traditions. It is understood and accepted that its purpose is to encourage traditional Irish music (how well it does this is not the point here).

It is this quest for "diversity" that I fear is behind the proposed name change. I have a sense that the very idea of focussing on "Englishness" is seen as exclusionary and therefore suspect, whereas a minority community focussing on its own culture would be encouraged. I think it is entirely proper that there should be an organisation dedicated to the promotion and preservation of English folk music, and it should not flinch from saying that is what it does.