Can I just clear up my situation here - I'm sure some of you are aware of it already, but it cuts right across the board of both personally collected recordings and those accumulated otherwise

We were part of a Singers Workshop for many years - as a group, we threw in material to assist each other, from recordings made by others, as we were doing, club performances..... right through to each others records... for learning largely
Almost immediately it became obvious that it was growing so fast that it needed organising into something more than a pool of recordings, so we decided to make it an archive, Terry Yarnell became the first archivist - I took over shortly after
When the workshop finally died, Terry and I were left with copies of what amounts to probably one of the largest privately held archive of traditional song and music in existence
It is organised into sections, fully digitised and listed - and it is up for grabs for anybody interested and responsible to take it on

I have yet to explore the 'pn-line possibilities fully - some of our own recordings are already on-line - Clare County Library has put up our Clare songs and music and the Irish Traditional Music Archive have put up others.
Limerick University has mooted the idea of putting up our Travellers Collection and have agreed to accept our full collection and library as a bequest, for the use of their 'World Music Department'

Which leaves us with the problem of the material given to us by others or accumulated otherwise
These include club performances, recorded lectures, radio programmes by the hundreds and material given by other collectors

As far as club performances are concerned, as long as they weren't clandestinely recorded, I really can't see the problem
We have many recordings done at the Singers Club - Ewan and Peggy never raised an objection to being recorded, nor our passing things on.
If you ask a singer for permission to record, unless otherwise stated, I can see no reason in the world why you shouldn't share those recordings with others - what's Peter Bellamy going to do - come back and haunt you ?
In our case, the same goes for Seamus Ennis, Joe Heaney, Paddy Tunny, Tom McCarthy, Bobby Casey...... or all the wonderful and generous people who kept the songs and music alive to pass on - as far as I'm concerned, we have a responsibility to do just that
I suspect that many of you are approaching my age group - you need to come to terms with the future of what you hold - Kennedy and Bulmer needs to be remembered when you do that
As Walter Pardon once told us - "they're not my songs, they're everybody's"

"We've currently got a right one in our town, "
Don't know if your a 'Killing Eve' fan - Villanette is not to well at present, but I believe she's open to offers
Jim