Right you are, Jimmy, not "diddly diddles."

Of course, it's not possible to value one country's tradition against another. It's ethnocentric and wrong. However, there are reasons why many English people today prefer to listen to Irish music than English music.

First, it's simply more erotic. Just listen to it. It's not the most erotic sounding music on earth but it's more erotic sounding than English music.

Second of all, as mentioned above, it's accepted in its own country and in other parts of the world like America and the Continent. Kids play it, seniors play it, foreigners play it. It's easier to like something that's accepted.

Third, the hype. Irish music has been used as incidental music in movies for 25 years in films that have had nothing to do with Ireland or Irish themes. Riverdance and its spin-offs have made it mainstream. Your auntie has probably seen Riverdance.

Irish music has come close to being imperiled. It was not very cool, for example to play Irish music in the 50s and 60s, during the Formica Age. Country and Western was all the go! It is, however, a living (unbroken) tradition all over Ireland. That is not always the case in many parts of England.

As for Halloween, the English identity (if there is one, single English identity) - like the language - is the sum of a lot of parts. No, the English aren't (pure) Celts but their heritage is partly Celtic. The Halloween custom came to America from England and was a reinterpreted holdover from the past.

All the best,
Dan