"In Ireland, all the music, singing and storytelling took place in farmhouse kitchens."

so without a farmhouse kitchen - you were pretty much bollocksed. actually its not the impression you get from the short stories of James Joyce.

from Joyce, you hear the folksongs sung by schoolkids, travellers on a train, in a pub, the ferret cage competitiveness of the feis, by sportsmen, medical students, political meetings......

okay, I know what's coming next.......well they weren't really folksongs. just like nobody in English folk clubs is singing folksongs.