The genius of Irish music has been to take and use and adapt, but without losing its difference. An Irish bazouki doesn't sound like a Greek Bazouki, an Irish Banjo doesn't sound like an American Banjo. And in fact with the different tunings and all, they are different instruments. The same way with the songs. They start sounding Irish. Even stuff that starts out as American Country ends up sounding distinctively Irish. (Leaving aside the fact that a lot of its roots in America are Irish anyway.)

This isn't peculiar to Irish music - it's what any live music culture which is still attached to its roots will do. But nurturing those roots is important. If it sometimes involves a bit of fanaticism and the kind of lack of balance shown in Seamus Duffy's piece at the start of this thread, so be it. There's plenty of people with a different way of seeing it to balance him out.

And if he wrote McAlpine's Crew, as Martin Ryan says he did, he's earned the right to be a bit obstreparous.