I've been out all day so have only just logged on to Mudcat and am thoroughly amazed at the development of this thread.

The magazines fRoots and Songlines share a number of writers and it was agreed a while back between their editors, respectively Ian Anderson and Simon Broughton, that those authors who fell into said category should adopt a pseudonym and opt to use this for any work published by one or t'other publication. Accordingly, I kept my real name for Songlines and used the nom de plume 'James O'Donnell' for fRoots on the basis that I'd worked first for the former. Those familiar with Flann O'Brian will recognise the source of my disguise.

For some years I've run the Irish Music Review website which not only compiles reviews I've written, plus plenty by other contributors, but also has an extensive discographical section (which I mention because some Mudcatters might be interested). Unfortunately, when I moved to Ireland some eighteen months ago I was unable to afford to continue my subscription to fRoots. I presumed that my reviews for the magazine would still be ascribed to 'James O'Donnell' and posted them to my site on this basis. Clearly (and, of course, I've been unable to check), fRoots reverted to my real name at some point in the past.

Some might ask why I stuck to the pseudonym when uploading the reviews and the answer is simply because I believed that it was the name under which they had been published.

Dick has been caught in that maelstrom of misidentification; nothing more, nothing less; and, absolutely nothing conspiratorial at all!

For the record:

1) to prevent any further confusion I will eradicate 'J O'D' from my website (though I'll much miss him);

2) I did ask Joe Offer to cut part of the review since I feel it's somewhat cheeky to reproduce an entire article without seeking permission first;

3) I have no quarrel with Dick whatsoever and, on my part, there is no animosity (life's far too short for that), but I have only telephoned him once and that was certainly not late at night;

4) my site actually does have a forum so it's possible for anyone to make comments there about reviews which I or others have written and that would have been the appropriate place to discuss my comments on Geantraí.

All the best,

Geoff