IRISH travellers on the Grand Tour during the 18th century will be the subject of a special symposium in Dublin next weekend. Organised by Professor Michael McCarthy of UCD's history of art department, the event is being held to mark the publication of A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy 1701-1800. Compiled from the archive built by Sir Brinsley Ford, the work identifies more than 6,000 such travellers and includes short biographies, itineraries and selective accounts of journeys taken from contemporary sources.

Obviously, the symposium will pay considerable attention to the dictionary; Friday's opening meeting in Newman House includes short talks by contributors Ann Martha Rowan and Kim Sloan as well as by editor John Ingamells. Saturday's series of lectures in the National Gallery of Ireland covers the Grand Tour, not just in Italy but also Germany and France, with particular attention paid to such well known Irish travellers as Luke Gardiner and Charles Jervas. On Sunday, a study tour travels to two houses in Co Wicklow, Russborough and Avondale.

Attendance at the symposium costs £20 per person (£10 for students) with an additional charge of £10 for participation on Sunday. Further information is available from the history of art department, UCD.

A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy 1701-1800 is published by Yale Union Press costs £50 in the UK.