"irishPOLKAS ARE PLAYED IN 2/4, REELS are 4/4, for feck sake reels are faster than polkas"

I've never heard anyone suggest irish polkas should be played slower than irish reels. Listen to any Irish player; all of them play polkas significantly faster than they play reels.

There are more notes in a reel, certainly, but that's because you've got more time to play them all... because reels are slower.

I'd be interested to hear an example of any Irish musician ever who played polkas slower than reels. Most reels tend to be played around the 120-130bpm mark; whereas polkas and slides tend to be from 130BPM upwards.