"if Carolan didnt mind, why should you?" This is an interesting question, Greg. It puzzles me that Carolan should write tunes for those who disenfranchised or *completely wiped out* his compatriots. While it's true that it's unlikely Carolan wrote the tune for the first Lord, his descendents were not much better. Was it simply a matter of survival, that if Turlough didn't have commissioned tunes, he did not eat, so he could not afford to be choosy? If so, I imagine some of his Catholic friends must have been upset by him, for moral and political reasons. If it was a case of survival, then he made the same kind of choice, but to a lesser degree, as many, i.e. many became Protestant - thus by proxy siding with a vicious invasion - rather than have their land confiscated; Carolan composed for both sides of the divide rather than go hungry. Still some, like the Inchiquins, did more than just change allegience to survive; they seemed to throw themselves into Catholic persecution with relish. What was going on in Carolan's mind: we shall never know the answer. Does Donal O'Sullivan have anything to say on the question?