I'll be happy to do a more detailed response to your post, Diarmud, though I'm actually somewhat incredulous that you are not more aware of the governing structure of Comhaltas. And while I'm sure our receptionist wouldn't have given you telephone numbers, the membership of the central council would be public record.

First, though, Jim raises some fascinating questions, which I think are quite relevant to the debate.

1.       (Somewhat impenetrable) rulebook and financial disputes aside - do you believe that the leadership have handled this affair well?

That would be a qualified "no." I think that the council took a difficult decision in the face of a difficult and complicated problem. Because they followed the rules and did what was necessary to get the project back on track, I think they acted correctly. However, in several areas there is much to learn from.

Communications between the Ardchomhairle and the Clontarf membership have been extremely unhelpful, from what I can see, both in person and in writing. To a certain extent, the Ardchomhairle will say that it isn't their job to talk to the membership - that they deal with the branch committee. And they're right, technically. From the perspective of goodwill, though, I think that animosities on both sides had been allowed to harden before any real communications occurred, and what we heard from both sides was excessively legalistic and stiff, exacerbating an already touchy situation. And as I've said elsewhere, I would have preferred that this action be originated at County Board level, escalated to Provincial Council and then to Central Council, if only to make sure that Clontarf felt they had been listened to at each step. I doubt that the outcome would be different, but a longer process (initiated earlier) would have addressed these questions of representation.

My choice would have been to initiate an action in Dublin County Board after the arbitrated agreement to pay contractors in December was defaulted, and let it go up the system from there. While the Ardchomhairle clearly has the right to do what it did, and while they were correct that some intervention had become necessary, I do feel that a process could have been followed which would have made it more clear to the membership of Clontarf what was happening and why. I believe that the council waited too long, hoping that the committee would start taking advice, and the disagreement became a very tragic game of chicken which could only be resolved drastically.

As I've said, though, I'm not an elected representative of any part of Comhaltas, and I was not privy to all communications back and forth. There may have been no alternative. But my own sense of process and fairness would have been better served by a more locally-originated debate. While constitutional, the acts taken made the Clontarf membership understandably upset, and certainly didn't do the organisation any favours in the area of public relations.

2.       Do you think that this affair has helped or hindered the cause of Irish traditional music?

This particular spat is definitely hurting, because it is contributing to a popular conception that whenever the government or a private organisation tries to get involved in culture, something gets screwed up. I don't agree with that - while I accept fully that Irish culture is no longer in danger of extinction or marginalisation, I believe that this continues to be in part due to organisations like Comhaltas. Note that I said "In part." The fact that Comhaltas has become sufficiently ubiquitous so as to fade into the unnoticed infrastructure of Irish life only underscores the point, not refutes it.

Yes, obviously people around the world could and should enjoy Irish music completely untethered to any structure or organisation. I'm glad that this happens. But the power of Comhaltas is in training the next generation of players, and ensuring that in any given area there will be a sufficient critical mass of music and musicians that the spontaneous ensembles and sessions and dances can take place, to the benefit of many. It is easy to underestimate this particular goal, and to assume that it was and always will be this way.

However, I think that a critical look will show that Irish culture still benefits from such support. For example, though Breton music and Moris dancing are still popularly performed by amateur musicians, we don't see nearly the involvement around the world by musicians who, day in and day out, focus much of their social energy on the amateur exchange of tunes and ideas. Spanish music has done well, but has largely become part of a performance-based tradition. Much of the indigenous music of the Middle and Far East survives throughout the diaspora, but has become relegated to marking major life events only. Irish music enjoys almost a unique status in the level of ongoing amateur support it receives, and I believe Comhaltas to be a part of that network. This far-flung network builds communities, fights cultural decay and provides focus for children and adults who are looking for a modern and collaborative answer to unidirectional mass-mediated culture.

Right now, the services of Comhaltas are heavily skewed toward children, which is in keeping with the educational goals of the movement. In the longer term, I hope to find new and better ways to facilitate the needs of adults within Comhaltas, through new collaborations, through better information exchange and through other community-building projects. But all of the potential for good work is hampered when there is division within the group.

It's understandable that people fight, and fight hard, for the structures with which they choose to align themselves. It's a sign of the strength of the Clontarf branch and of the movement as a whole that people are so passionate about this debate. I applaud the passion and energy. But when people feel ill-used, when the debate leaks out in to the public sphere, when the debate becomes acrimonious, the thing that we all believe in is damaged. The more it looks like Comhaltas can't get its act together, the more the aims of the movement are impeded.

So while the theatre and teaching centre itself will be a very good thing for the traditional arts, this particular argument is definitely hurting the cause.