"LOTS of muttering goes on among musicians," says Fintan Vallely, flute-player, lecturer, writer and a driving force behind the forthcoming Crosbhealach an Cheoil/ The Crossroads Conference on Irish Traditional Music. "There is a certain amount of misrepresentation and mythology around, so a few of us thought it was time to bring musicians, music teachers and music lovers together to air their views, under the banner of tradition and change in Irish music. The end of the century seems an appropriate time to look at all the different currents, 100 years after Irishness was defined by the Gaelic Revivalists."

Organised by committee members Liz Doherty, Colin Hamilton, Eithne Vallely, Cormac Breatnach and Fintan Vallely, the conference, which takes place at the Temple Bar Music Centre, Dublin, from Friday April 19th to Sunday April 21st, will be "the first attempt at self-analysis by musicians" and comes at a time when debates about the authenticity of traditional forms, versus innovation, improvisation and eclecticism, have been thrown into relief by the Riverdance and River of Sound projects.

The opening session of the conference will be a discussion between Professor Micheal O Suilleabhain and Tony McMahon, senior producer in RTE, chaired by Robin Morton, former director of the Edinburgh Folk Festival, and should raise some of the issues which will be discussed in detail over the weekend by the 46 speakers, most of whom are practising musicians. Tickets for the conference cost £15. For further information contact: 01-676-4873.