Were there Celts, and is there such a thing as ‘Celtic guitar’?

About a month ago I joined a listserve where members discuss Irish traditional music. While the exact definition of that is obviously debatable, as is the definition of Hawaiian music, the discussion on the list has been fairly genial. One member posted a request for suggestions on educational materials for learning Celtic guitar accompaniment. He got a few nice suggestions, and then this…

Excuse me while I throw up. There is no such thing as Celtic guitar
accompaniment. There is no such thing as Celtic guitar. And there is no such thing as Celtic music. In fact, I can think of one authority who seriously disputes the contention that there was ever such a thing as a race of people who could be identified as Celts.

What do you call the overall genre that include Irish, Scottish and related music? I’ve only heard it being referred to broadly as “Celtic” music. I’m not sure if the poster took offense to the use of “Celtic” over “Irish” or something else that I can’t deduce from the post. I suggest Guinness therapy, in moderation, of course.

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