Does anyone know what happen to them? Is it just me, or does their website no longer exist?
Jeff
Jeff, you might want to check out this thread:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=23151&highlight=scoiltrad
They’re apparently gone.
Susan
This is really sad. I was planning on getting some of their flute lessons, before they disapeared.
Max
So were those of us who paid for them, and got them not.
I didn’t lose any money myself but feel bad as I talked someone who wanted to get started into buying the course, she got one lesson.
I can understand why things don’t work out as intended and I’m sure that legally they didn’t do anything wrong, businesses do go bankrupt and it’s usually evolves losing money on all parts.
What I can’t understand is how they did it. The ITM community is not that big and I believe that those who bought lessons or classes from Scoiltrad are the same people that buy their CDs, go to their concerts etc. It would have been so easy for them just to make the lessons public so people would have got at least part of what they were paying for.
I haven’t seen a single comment from any of the people involved in Scoiltrad on the boards I visit and mailing lists I read. Why ???
I don’t have a clue 
My only guess is that
- They don’t care!
- They don’t give a damm!
- The sold the rights of the lesson to a third party and therefore could make them free to download.
If case 3 applies I think it would have been even more important for them to come out and declare their stand point and explain where the problems lay.
I doubt that I will by any of their new CD’s in the near future and I have no problem with copying the ones I already have to mp3’s and upload them to a BitTorrent site.
It’s sad when you lose respect for people that you once was regarded as heroes 
/MarcusR
They disappeared from the Internet. Multiple attempts to contact one of them were unsuccessful. My only theory is that there may be some kind of lawsuit going on and they’re forbidden to speak.
I have a hard time to believe that there is a law that’s forbids them to make that statement publicly. They have posted here in the past and if they would have posted a sentence stated that there is a lawsuit going on and that they can’t discuss this during the process many would have understand. If they added a “sorry” the might even end up with some good will. Now this is all speculations we don’t know what happened. The only thing we do know is that up to now they have chosen to do nothing.
/MarcusR
I think Glauber has the right of it; there seems to be something going on that prohibits them from commenting publicly.
This is just a guess, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a nuissance lawsuit from the recording industry over some suspected copyright violation.
If it is the case, their lawyers would likely have told them it’s not in their best interest to make any public comment, because there is almost nothing they could say that couldn’t be turned around to be a weapon against them later in trial.
It is sad: Scoiltrad was, in my opinion, the absolute best help available online for those wishing to learn to play Irish trad the right way. There are still some tutorial websites out there, but in my opinion they do not take the even, balanced view that made the Scoiltrad lessons work.
I very much sympathize with anyone who has lost money, but the musicians involved in Scoiltrad were not bad people. It may not be much comfort in the meantime, but I think they’ll make it right to their customers the first chance they have to do so. The bad news is, if what I suspect is true, that’ll be years from now.
–James
Unless they have really been abducted by aliens (or by the Americans) 
someone will eventually meet one of them in a festival or something.
Well, even a gag order allows you to say you’ve been instructed to make no comment. They could say, “Due to circumstances beyond our control we have been forced to suspend operations of Scoiltrad, Teo.” That’s not “commenting.” Or, “We are not allowed to comment publicly on our current situation.” Then at least people would know something’s wrong.
Ireland’s not a totalitarian state.
Stuart
Also I want to emphasize that I don’t know anything more than the rest of you; I think I have made a good, educated guess, but that’s all.
Even the idea that Scoiltrad has permenently closed down is just a guess, unless someone has actually tracked down and spoken to one of these guys?
Perhaps with patience we’ll one day have some real answers.
Stuart, Ireland is not a totalitarian state, but if there is such a lawsuit, it may well have come from stateside. The U.S. isn’t a totalitarian state either, but right now isn’t a good time to become enmeshed in the U.S. legal system.
My sincerest hope is that everyone that was involved in Scoiltrad is OK and will be OK; a secondary hope is that everyone who lost money eventually regains it.
I hope someday there will be another online school like Scoiltrad; I grieve that they are gone.
–James
And if it came from here, they can definitely say they’re not allowed to comment.
I just don’t understand why anyone would speculate that they’ve been instructed not to comment, and that’s why they’ve disappeared from the earth. I mean, we’ve invented a lawsuit to explain their disappearance, and now made it such a dirty, juicy lawsuit that they can’t even speak. Come on, guys; this is Chiff and Fipple, not CourtTV. Or, the real world, not CourtTV.
Stuart
No, but judging this thread few of you have insight how things are done in ireland 
Then enlighten us. I do recognize Emerald Isle sanctimoniousness.
Stuart
I don’t deny what you say, but we like these guys, and we’re just trying our hardest to find an excuse for them. The other excuses we thought of (e.g.: “they’re just going on an extended drinking binge”) don’t work anymore. We don’t really believe they were taken away by the Wee People. There’s not much left.
All that we really know is that they took money from most of the people in this thread, and disappeared. The amount of money they took doesn’t seem to be large enough for anyone to throw away his good reputation. Or perhaps that’s what you mean by your comment. I can think of a few interpretations of what you wrote, but none of them is good news.
Have you searched the hospitals and jails ?
I searched the Cork court records . . . :roll:
I have written to innumerable sources, including the Cork County Council (which blew me off), in an effort to obtain the remainder of my paid-for lessons, or at least an explanation.
Out of all those contacts, one very kind Irish individual, whom you all know and respect, did actually go to the trouble of speaking to someone on my behalf. He indicated that the company was “in liquidation.” So, they’re definitely gone. Apparently, the instructors were minority shareholders without much control over things, and have not had access to Scoiltrad email or functions for some time now (I would suspect since early last summer).
He also indicated that he didn’t think it would be a problem for someone who had the remaining beginner flute lessons to put them on a disk for me. So, if anyone has them and can fit them onto a disk or set of disks, I’ll gladly reimburse you for the disks and your trouble and your postage. (I did check to see if I could manage a torrent file, but it’s over my head.)
I wouldn’t be making such a big deal out of this, but the videotaped lessons made such a difference. It’s not the $130, but the lessons. I’m visually handicapped, so I’ve never had much success with sheet music. It’s difficult to figure out the tune if you can’t tell if it’s a note or a rest or just a spot of lint, and if you can’t get a grip on where the notes are because they seem to shift. The frustration drove me from the piano years ago. And no teacher is going to sit there long enough, playing the piece over and over again until it sinks in. In fact, I’ve had four teachers refuse to teach me, saying I was too slow to learn music.
But, the videotape doesn’t mind being played repeatedly. It’s completely non-critical. And, curiously enough, I discovered that by watching it I was able to learn almost effortlessly. Seeing it and hearing it at the same time, in slow motion, did the trick. Something just clicked and there it was. It was really quite remarkable.
I have MadforTrad now, and it’s fine, but I can’t slow it down, can’t get the tunes to replay ad infinitum, and the sheet music prints too small. The Scoiltrad lessons were better in that respect. So, I’m still hoping for a copy of them. Hoping for a miracle.
My suspicion is that they were sued. I see another entity which may have claimed they had the right to the format.
I’ve been upset and snarky about this, so I’ve said some cranky things in the past, but at this point I’m not sure they were warranted. I’m not sure that anyone affiliated with Scoiltrad could help what happened, or that they had any control over the aftermath.
Thanks for your post, Peggy.
Nothing like a little bit of data.
Stuart
This is the first real information I’ve read since this all started.
I grieve that they are gone. As Peggy pointed out, their lessons were wonderful and the vacuum they leave in their wake remains unfilled.
Perhaps someday someone can take this idea and run with it again. It’ll have to be the right somebody, though: one of the things that made Scoiltrad so valuable to me is that Conal is a wonderful teacher.
He leaves behind big shoes to fill.
–James