The Olympic Council of Ireland yesterday announced details of a major conference to discuss the issue of drugs in sport. The twoday event, entitled "Sport against Drugs", will be hosted by Dublin's Radisson Hotel in Stillorgan on November 6th and 7th.

The conference will bring together world leaders in the fight against the illegal abuse of drugs in sport. Those speaking will include Prince Alexandre de Merode, chairman, International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical commission, Dr Wade Exum, director of the US Olympic Committee Drug Control and Professor David Cowan, head of the IOC Approved Laboratory, London. Also attending will be leading local figures such as Giles Kennedy, legal adviser to the Olympic Council of Ireland and clinical pharmacologist Professor Austin Darragh.

"The idea is to take a thorough look at a highly topical phenomenon from a number of very relevant perspectives," said Pat Hickey, president of the OCI. "It promises to be an essential forum for administrators, coaches and athletes of all sporting bodies."