How many 'Celtic' players aren't?

[mmukav]

How far is Slovenia (part of former Yugoslavia) from Ireland?

My best friend and band mate is Irish, but my interest in Irish/Celtic music came from my background in folk music.
Fairport Convention, The Cheftains, and of course all those wonderful songs heard on St. Patrick's Day!

Polkas are played in both countries, and who cares whether you drink Guiness or Slibovitz?

[Bertram Henze]

who cares whether you drink Guiness or Slibovitz?

I think pears have a very clear opinion about that

Seriously - I just read once more "The Sea Kingdoms" by Alistair Moffat. He makes a clear point that Celtic identity is made up not of race (nothing to be found in DNA) but of a common language (plus, a geographic place easily reachable from the Atlantic).
Music is a language, right? Therefore, if you play Celtic music you are a Celt by definition, since all places are easily reachable from the Atlantic today.

[catmandu2]

I think it has more to do with "nurture" than "nature." I'm a white kid from Nothern European ancestry whose played: classical, jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, OT, ITM, flamenco, cajun, and have felt "unnatural" at times throughout it all!

Lately, though, I've been getting back to my "roots" with immersion in Scandinavian music..

[JeffD]

My cultural roots have little to do with my ethnic roots, which in turn have not much to do with my musical influences.

[catmandu2]

I was watching a documentary on Mngus last evening--someone of very mixed ancestry. His wife said that he felt we (folks) are often overly concerned with who we "appear" to be, and where we come from. I'm inclined to agree.