Well said, Troll. Reading Caesar's Commentaries one can find out that the Germans used to bang their shields, too, accompanied by their famous battle cry, the "ululatus".
And now to the poor bodhran players. It seems to me that a lot of people are used to think that a drum is easier to play than a melodious instrument. This may be true to a certain amount, but banging happily away the cadence is no mastership nor a special joy for the audience. You must have heard some true masters of the hand beaten drum, especially in the Orient, to notice the deep, deep gap between these two kinds of playing. Hence the detesting a lot of bodhran players, especially the unkempt girl in folkloristic rags with the shrill voice.

Wilfried