"I MIGHT have been slightly mischievous with my programming," says Fiach Mac-Conghail of his efforts not to conform to local expectations of Irish culture. Slightly. Two of the four visual artists represented have been based in London for several years; Pan Pan's show has Italian as its most prominent spoken language; while Raymond Deane's piano recital featured a premiere of work by Siobhan Cleary, an Irish composer who flew in from her Bologna base for the event.

`I wanted to present a feeling that contemporary culture in Ireland is not uniquely Irish.. . and that it's no longer exclusively dealing with indigenous goings on." This broader view, he suggests, make particular sense away from Paris, in a city like Marseille, hardly more French than it is African.

Nevertheless, MacConghail does not imagine this view will immediately supplant the traditional notions: "We're not like the Abbey arriving to Paris to standing ovations. We are not trying for a charismatic conversion to Christianity here: we're in for the long haul."

The long haul may be the best bet for contemporary Irish classical music, judging by some reactions to Raymond Deane's piano recital. Before the composer had reached the third chord in his lament, Lenos, one local had set off for the door. A few minutes later, a pair crossed in front of the stage. A slow trickle continued for the hour's length of Deane's balanced programme of short pieces by various composers. "I suppose it shows that audiences in Marseille are not that different from those in Dublin," said the composer later, admirably undaunted.