Pure speculation here on my part, but it's also possible that "huffy Sligo flute players" were a dime a dozen at the time, and that the Galway style was sufficiently different that the judges were entranced by it. It really depends on who the judges were. You could imagine that if people were used to hearing "huffy" style flute players, the Galway fluters would have made them sit up and take notice.Eldarion wrote: Does this reenforce the idea that huffy Sligo flute playing was not popular with the judges for a long while?
For example, Oisin McDiarmada won the senior fiddle title a few years back, at a time when he was playing in a very individualistic, unorthodox, lyrical style. Sometimes judges are captivated by a player whose style stands out from the rest; other times they may base their decision on pure virtuosity or other criteria.
I think a list of All-Ireland champions would be more revealing if it were accompanied by a list of the judges who chose them. I've personally never been all that impressed by people who call themselves All-Ireland Champions, since my interpretation of that title is that they happened to play to judges who rated them as the best. Sure, it means they're excellent musicians, but there are plenty of excellent musicians who don't want to compete or who don't play well in competitions, or whatever.