"as one who thinks there can be no such thing as new or recent 'folk' song"!
Never said any such thing - I've recorded recent folk songs from communities that still have a living tradition
Britain doesn't any longer, neither does Ireland - the process of communities making and re-processing songs disappeared when we became passive recipients of our culture.
Don't really see what you are saying about Peter Bellamy.
He certainly was a singer of folk songs, the few songs he made himself weren't folk songs and I wasn't aware he ever claimed them to be.
Have got no problem with the idea of 'folk singers' - its the pedigree of the songs they sing that concern me (that is not a value judgement, just a attempt to create a common ground on which to discuss them).
Jim Carroll