Chet, In my experience, especially in Irish sessions, there are a few unspoken rules you must follow when participating in a session. In reference to beginners, you should really know if you are a beginner and try to stay away from sessions which are too fast for you or the tunes are "elite". There are plenty of beginner sessions out there. However, it goes against all session etiquette (in my opinion) to ever ask anyone to leave a session because of their inexperience. It's the same way with beginners as it is with children. Their musical growth should be encouraged, and asking them to leave a session achieves the exact opposite. A session can always be slowed down for a few tunes to accomodate a beginner. A problem developes when the beginner doesnt realize that the session is being slowed down specifically for them. This produces an awkward situation in which the more experienced players tend to stop coming because the session is too slow, and "elite" sessions develope. In summation, beginners: know your limits and dont take over a session, and more advanced players: encourage the musical growth of beginners as far as you can.

Rob