Hard to disagree with anyone's rants in the above. Glad to see that The Fields of Athenry got a mention. If I ever hear that song again ...

Glad to see also that The Wild Rover has been trashed a number of times. Reminds me of a time when I used to attend what was billed as a folk session in Camden Town, North London. In fact the "session" was an opportunity for a pretty loose confederation of musicians to play as a band for half an hour or so and then invite others to take the floor and play two or three numbers to the assembled miserable buggers who'd paid two or three quid to witness the sorry debacle. (The effect was so surreal that I used to go regularly and treat it as a bit of a comedy event.)

Anyway the "band" used to round off the evening with a few tunes to which they invited members of the audience to contribute. One of the tunes was always "The W*** R****" and till the day I die I'll never forget the band's guitarist peering over his glasses to his songbook for the chords and, even then, having to halt progress from time to time to get back on track. (And, if memory serves me right, they played the tune in F! Who in their right minds ....)

Another song which they massacred was "Sweet Betsy From Pike". I don't want to come within ten miles of that ditty again!

And while we're on the subject their stop-start version of "Bill Bailey" was a hoot!

Perhaps this "band" ought to log on to this thread, vaguely learn all of the songs which people would like to ditch, and host a nightmarish evening where they play them all really badly!

While they're at it they could include in their repertoire some of my other all time least favourite songs such as:

Ride On (a low point in Christy's career) Star of the County Down ( ... such a coaxin' elf, indeed!) Boys from the County Armagh (I'm from the place myself and therefore on my infrequent visits home have to be subjected to the song down the local pub ... Oh God!) Kevin Barry (especially when "crooned" by some red-faced drunk to whom the whole bar has to "give a bit of order") Any "funny" song sung by the likes of Val Doonican such as Paddy McGinty's Goat or Phil the Fluter's Ball (believe it or not I have heard such songs sung in public ...) "The Rose of Mooncoin", "The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee", "Limerick, You're a Lady", "Slievenamon", "Avondale", "The Bard of Armagh" And finally I'd like to be able to pass sentence on the person responsible for reviving "Living Next Door to Alice" and making it a staple at every Irish "singalong"!

.... Aidan Crossey