I know what you mean, but it’s better to listen to a style than to hear about it; and it’s easier to find a CD than take a trip to Ireland. Just sayin.
It possible the availability of radio, albums, CD etc. have eroded regional styles too, players are exposed to alot more now than they were in the past.
Hasn’t it always been about people and places? They’re connected. Looking at past generation’s fluteplayers from the area I am living in: Willie Clancy, Martin Talty, Michael Falsey, Josie Hayes, JC Talty, Jimmie Hogan (I name the ones I have actually heard, in person or recorded. There are more that could be added to the list) you’ll find they all sound like distinctly different players, even within a geographically limited area that is maybe a five mile square on the map. If you look at what they have in common, you may just arrive at a regional style you can pin-point on the whole area. At the end of the day it’s a personal interpretation of a common language that you hear.
This is a very telling point but not because of any change to a cult of personality. The simple fact is that people’s personality will out and will generally introduce a lot of local variation (as Peter said so well).
If you want to look for regional differences then a very important factor is the style and preferences for particular types of dance in an area. This obviously interacts with the music but if you listen to (or much better, dance to) reels from players from Cork/Kerry/Limerick, Sligo/Roscommon and Donegal you’ll often get quite a different feel from them.
This is because a preference for streamlined polkas and slides in Kerry affects playing habits and hence the approach to reels as do the very wide-ranging dancing habits in Donegal (highlands, mazurkas and a large number of two-hand dances related to particular tunes). Of course, I’m generalising again, because the range of playing styles in Donegal alone is large and often very personal.
Jim 