RICHARD BRIDGE ,The traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland Wales,are intertwined and cannot be seperated entirely.there has always been interchange of music between these countries.
I was flabbergasted by this organisers request[although it does show she had an awareness that the English have a tradition as well,some Irish people seem to think only the Irish have traditional music]to me its a bit like asking George Papavageris to sing only greek songs because he is of Greek extraction,apologies George if I have this wrong.
RichardBridge,I believethat I sing irish songs as well as I do English songs,What is important with singing is having an empathy with the song,this is what helps you to sing it well,not whether the song is from Brighton or Saltcoats or Ennis or Swansea.