I'd like to see the same attempt at respect by the many Irish speakers in the Cat who wonder quite annoyingly why anyone would want a translation of a 'perfectly good Irish song'. We want them because we want to understand them and sing them to people who will understand them, or at least be able to explain them to people who don't understand them. Translation is an art, and Francis is an artist, good on him, and maybe his translations will enter the canon of Irish Ballads, maybe not. I don't think it a sillything to do, but in the case of an Irish audience, maybe unnecessary. Except as an expression of his art, and for the love and perpetuation of the Irish language.