Crosbhealach an Cheoil – The Crossroads Conference 1996 Author: Edited by Fintan Vallely, Hammy Hamilton, Eithne Vallely and Liz DohertyISBN-13: 978-0951156940Publisher: Whinstone Guideline Price: €15 ; 243ppIn February 1995, Tony MacMahon was sitting in the audience of The Late Late Show when he was asked for his reaction to music written by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and Dónal Lunny for the television series A River of Sound. His response was so forthright and bleak – “I can hear very little of Ireland in it … Irish traditional music is being lost” – that it sparked a national debate. Fourteen months later, Fintan Vallely, Cormac Breatnach, Liz Doherty, Hammy Hamilton and Eithne Vallely organised the Crosbhealach an Cheoil conference in Dublin, bringing together 42 speakers for a weekend of discussion and debate.Vallely et al published a book from the conference in 1999, but it was missing 11 contributors, including Ó Súilleabháin’s keynote. Now, marking 30 years, the editors have produced an enhanced volume with the complete talks, photographs by Steve Perry, additional context, and a transcript of the closing discussion.What is clear throughout is how important the occasion was. Ireland was changing rapidly in the 1990s and Irish traditional music was moving in many directions. Sound familiar? The organisers invited practitioners and scholars, not just from Ireland but from Scotland, the Isle of Man, America and England, with subjects ranging from audiences at the Fleadh Cheoil to fiddle playing in the Ottawa Valley. The inclusive approach worked. Whereas the media debate had been polarising, setting up a conflict between “tradition” and “change”, here speakers could provide nuance. They spoke about organic change in music, how elements are introduced and transformed, when innovation works and when it doesn’t, and the essays provide clarity and context for today. Particularly interesting are the contributions by Mick Moloney on America; Janet Harbison on the harp; Martin Dowling on music and place; Riobard Mac Góráin on Gael Linn; Lillis Ó Laoire on Tory Island; Margaret Bennett on Scotland; and MacMahon’s keynote.At the book launch in Miltown Malbay on July 5th, Nicholas Carolan commented on the “fragmentation” in Irish traditional music since, that a national discourse like that of the 1990s is unlikely today. But Irish music needs a regular conference. There have been initiatives, such as the excellent TradTalk, but it deserved more support. Sooner or later, this generation will want a deeper discussion too.Toner Quinn is a writer, musician, publisher, editor and lecturer. In 2000, he founded The Journal of Music in Ireland