Hotpress.com has learned that this year's Slane festival is to be headlined by Madonna, who'll be making her first ever appearance in Ireland, with the gig almost certain to take place on Saturday, August 21st.

The Slane date is just one of a handful of European shows that will form part of the upcoming world tour, which also coincides with the release of Madonna's new book, Lotsa de Casha. While hotpress.com is unclear of the nature of the children's story, the book title is certainly appropriate in the context of Slane, with rumours that Madonna will take as much as $5 million from her Irish date. With ticket prices set at st£125 in the UK, it is thought likely that prices for the Irish show will top the 100 Euro mark, with a record ticket price of €150 a distinct possibility.

While the Slane festival has generally taken place in August, suggesting that either August 21nd or August 28th is the likely date, there is a possibility on this occasion that the gig will happen in September, as efforts are being made to accommodate London shows that are currently being pencilled in for Earls Court. However, August 21st is currently considered to be the most likely date.

Asked in the past by Hot Press, Slane supremo Lord Henry Mountcharles has made no secret of the fact that Madonna is right at the top of his "wish-list". Now that wish is about to be fulfilled. Says one industry insider: "Outside of U2, there isn't any other act who'd sell-out Slane faster than Madonna. I can see it being a real family day out with fans from the '80s taking their kids who've gotten into her through her more recent dancey stuff."

The show is part of Madonna's 2004 re-INVENTION Tour, which kicks off in San Francisco on June 1 and takes in 32 North American cities before crossing the Atlantic for European dates. Also on the confirmed list is a gig in a desert venue called Solomon's Pillars, which is located outside the Israeli coastal resort of Eilat. Rather worryingly, the Scottish bagpipe player who played at the christening of her son, Rocco, has been asked to join the tour.

"When I got this email from Madonna's agent I thought it was a wind-up," laughs Callum "Spud" Fraser. "It'll be amazing playing in front of such huge crowds. It'll be the experience of a lifetime, I'm well up for it."

Meanwhile, the last single from Madonna’s American Pie album, 'Love Profusion', will hit the shops in May.

Stay tuned to hotpress.com for Slane updates as we get them.