Events, Events, Events

WITH guests including Van Morrison, The Chieftains, Barabas Theatre Company, artist Alice Maher and poet Paul Muldoon, "The Celts are Coming is a large, month long festival of Irish art to be held in Arhus, in Denmark, starting on April 12th. Tel: 0045 89402392.

During the month of May, the Peacock will, for the first time, play host to community theatre. The two invited companies are the Balcony Belles from Sheriff Street, Dublin and Belfast's Shankill Community Theatre.

A press conference was held yesterday to launch possibly the largest conference ever held on Irish traditional music. Crosbhealach an Cheoil/The Crossroads Conference. The conference, which will be held in the temple Bar Music Centre on April 19th-21st, and which may be attended by as many as 400 people, will address itself to the thorny issue of tradition vs. experimentation. For information, phone 01 4972979.

The first National Playwrights' Conference will take place in the Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford in June. The conference will focus on writer development. Six playwrights will be invited to attend a three week programme with directors, actors, a design team and dramaturgs. Red Kettle and Waterford Youth Drama will be partners in the project. Scripts (previously unproduced) should be sent to the Administrator, Garter Lane, 22a O'Connell Street, Waterford by March 31st. Tel: 051 55038.

A colloquium will be held this weekend at the Great Blasket Centre, Dun Chaoin, Co Kerry, to celebrate the life and scholar ship of Robin Flower, the distinguished Celtic scholar, who provided a crucial stimulus to the development of Blasket Island writing. Tel. 066 56446.

Highlights of this year's Cuirt festival of literature in Galway, which opens on April 16th, will include cult novelist, Irving Welsh, author of Trainspotting, the Acid House and Marabou Stork Nightmares; Anglo Jamaicain Dub poet, Benjamin Zephaniah, and Leeds born Whitbread award winner, Tony Harrison. For information, phone 091 565886.