DONAL Lunny is a genius. At least, this is the premise that comes leaping out of nearly every paragraph in the purple prose drenched press release that accompanies his latest album, Common Ground. Likewise, ask Donal himself whether or not such a claim is true and he will he immediately reply "Of course I am, what a stupid question."

But wait a second don't scream "what an arrogant git" and throw away the newspaper just yet. He then bursts out laughing, admitting he "felt embarrassed" by most of the claims in that press release and jokes that he hopes none of the "lesser names" on Common Ground got involved simply to be associated with this genius. Names such as Bono, Sinead O'Connor, Elvis Costello, Christy Moore and Kate Bush.

Nevertheless, these artists did originally get involved because the album was being touted as the "first interactive CD Rom compilation of Irish music." This, clearly, could be seen as, if not the work of a man of genius, then a characteristically forward looking concept from a musical visionary whose work as part of groups such as Planxty and Moving Hearts has deeply altered the nature of Irish music. Equally so, his production credits in the studio.

However, despite Donal's dexterity at the recording console he reveals that he is "not totally familiar" with the constantly developing technology of CD Rom, which is a format that involves additional information being burned into a compact disc so that when it is played on an appropriate personal computer it delivers not just sound but vision, in the shape of video clips, interviews, scrolled lyrics.

SO, if he is not the digital brain behind this project who is? And will Common Ground he released in all formats?

"As far as I know the CD Rom package will follow" he says, relaxing in Dublin's new Temple Bar Music Centre. "And the whole idea came from Gerald Seligman of EMI, who is using this to push its Premier label. But Microsoft are also involved and apparently it has taken more time than was thought to sort out the package. In the meantime EMI are releasing the album itself."

So, what will we be getting?

Half an album? A set of songs which won't finally fall into focus until those of us who can afford CD Rom can slip the disc into the hungry mouths of our PCs?

"No, not at all," says Donal. "I always say this is a music project first and foremost, even though the original idea was to do a number of tracks with certain artists and give them a sound that Gerald specifically associated with me."

Which is what? As a producer and musician is Donal Lunny conceptually driven, or does he instinctively inch his way into those hybridised territories he has been praised, and in some areas criticised, for exploring?

"I am concept driven and the concept is my core belief that Irish music is as relevant as any form of music these days," he responds, before addressing the $64 .009 question, which is, what, exactly, is Irish music, in 1996?

"IT'S the music of this land, as played by its people, wherever they may he based, or coming from.

Indeed, the common thread in this album apart from myself being producer and part arranger of the music is that the artists involved were either Irish or thought to have a spiritual/musical connection with the country."

Hold on. How did our "genius" gauge authenticity in this respect? Plug people like Kate Bush into a machine that gave a reading on some "Irish spiritual/musical" graph? And what would Donal say to those who will inevitably suggest that our Kate, in particular, singing Mna no hEireann in Irish, sounds as if she doesn't know what the hell she's going on about?

"Actually we did do cardiographs on all the artists and they all came through with flying colours" he jokes. "But saying that about Kate is a really predictable response, isn't it? OK, Kate doesn't speak Irish but she put a lot of work into learning the sound of the words and does gain access to the spirit of the song through the melody. And let's face it, there are so many songs out now, that are just words set to music, yet which gain no penetration into that other area of feeling, and emotion that I got way back, from listening to something like Dylan's New Morning. That's a crudely simple song but it pierces your heart because it gives you a sense of life expectation, hope. And Dylan does that, like a great Japanese painter, with just a few lines. Similarly, Kate is conscious of the depth that is inherent in what she hears and. I think, does a great job on this song.

OBVIOUSLY, Donal Lunny ain't so bad when it comes to the great Japanese painter stakes himself. With just a few lines here he clearly has hinted at what probably are his own goals in hybridising folk and electric music. Would he care to elaborate?

"Irish music does not have an unlimited palate of colour harmonically and the real challenge is the question of how much you can introduce to that, without fracturing the essence," he says. "For example, there are fundamental differences involved when you unite acoustic music and electric music. You can put in too much, in the way of polychromatic chords, and suddenly the music takes a nosedive, become pastiche, loses it own integrity."

Some might suggest this is exactly what happens when Donal adds too many extraneous musical layers to Brian Kennedy's voice in As I Roved Out, on Common Ground. Or when U2 use a drum machine in Tomorrow, though, alternatively, many might argue that the latter, in particular, is a signpost to the future of Irish music, a synthesis symbolising the point at which our folk cultured past perfectly couples with post rock influences.

"That's exactly how I see that track and the music U2 create, overall," Donal responds. "And I don't accept purists saying that Bono should explore folk roots' more. Bono is Irish to the core, land that's obvious from every, note he sings. And, in terms of the Brian Kennedy track it's not over dressed at all. In fact, the only place we didn't succeed in terms, of getting exactly what we set out to do, was with Andy Irvine's track, My Heart's Tonight In Ireland. The rest are exactly what we wanted, though that doesn't mean I'm saying I haven't got it wrong in the past. I did. But it really is the most delicate of balancing acts extending modalities in this sense.

And yet, in the final analysis, as Lunny himself suggests, formal structures in Irish music must be changed to accommodate changing sensibilities. In this context he also agrees that "there couldn't be anything more Irish" than Bono choosing to re-record, in more of a folk setting, the old U2 track tomorrow which deals with the singer's response to the death of his mother. And looking forward to U2's first post Zooropa tour and, indeed, the CD Rom release of Common Ground Donal suggests that the future of Irish music is hound to be "at least partly interactive", which, in a sense, "is how it all began" as in "people interacting when they play music together" particularly Irish folk music.

"And I see no contradiction, or tension between such technological developments and the continuing development of Irish music in general" he concludes. "The development of CD Rom is just a new medium, another way of presenting music to people. In fact it's something that's really exciting, as long as we don't forget that at the end of the day it is the music that matters.