"I don't know how many people come on here as people who are interested and start to read this stuff"
With respect Guest, these discussions/arguments tend to take place between people who are involved and have been for a while; no way of avoiding that, I'm afraid
Theer are plenty of examples of the music on line to make your own mind - he last few years has benefited from quite a few sites dedicated to traditional music (British Library, School of Scottish Studies, Irish Traditional Music Archive to name a few - I'm quite proud of our own collection on the Clare County Library, but I would be, wouldn't I?
Can't argue too much with Vic's list, but most of us cut our teeth on clubs run by volunteers who didn't get paid - they were a breakaway from the commercial scene that many people seem to have returned to
The clubs I was involved in seldom booked more than one guest a month and relied on dedicated residents to make evenings work
THat seems to be what is happening now in Ireland, the main difference being that the media has little to say on what is happening and Traditional music has won its place in the sun for what it is rather than what can be made from it
Jim Carroll