Dick, I think there's a lot of sense in what you're saying about competitions though I must admit I'm in two minds about it myself where music is concerned. Certainly, the whole Fleadh thing is incredibly arbitrary, especially in England (which, to be fair, is only a sideshow when it comes to the well-being of the Irish musical tradition overall). What I like about Fleadhanna, though, is when you see kids playing together spontaneously outside of a competitive environment. I can't say I've ever seen anything similar in the dancing Feiseanna I've been to. The great thing about a Fleadh, as far as the kids in our branch is concerned, is that it's a big social thing and an event in it's own right. I've certainly never seen any of our parents tearing strips off a kid for not doing well enough.

On the other hand, music, if you're going to get the most out of it as a young person, needs to be treated as a discipline and a structured activity as well at least when they're learning. They may or may not keep it up in later life but at least they've had the exposure to it when they were young and they've had access to musicians and teachers who (in our case) give their time for free to pass it on. Fleadhanna, for all their shortcomings, give them a focus for practicing, particularly in group and ceili band competitions (which kids love, in my experience).

So while I entirely agree with you that music is not a competitive sport, I think Fleadhanna give kids a focus for their music on a social as well as a competitive level. My own major issue (or one of them) with Comhaltas, I suppose, is that some kids and parents don't appreciate and make the most of what is being offered to them.

When I was running our branch, I stopped the long-established half-time sweetie break because you couldn't get the kids back from it and when you did they were so off their heads on sugar you couldn't do a thing with them. It did them no harm at all to do without but it was the parents, more than the kids, who kicked off about it.

In this instance, the competitive sport analogy would have been helpful. If kids are playing football or tennis or gymnastics you don't let them stop half-way through and stuff their faces with chocolate. And kids do need rules and boundaries. Team sports and playing in a grupaí cheoil are similar in that respect - you need to learn to think of others beside yourself. If practicing for a competition helps keep their focus on that consideration, that's fine by me.

I like the bit about 'reflected glory', by the way. How many middle-aged folkies do we both know who've been driving their kids around folk clubs since their early teens after getting them to learn to play their dad's Martin or their mum's Paolo Soprani? It ain't just dance mothers.....