Octocon
Octocon, the National Irish Science Fiction Convention, is an event organised by and for fans of science fiction, held annually in October. It has mostly been staged in Dublin, but for four years was in the university town of Maynooth. It was not held in 2003, and in 2014, when Ireland hosted that year's Eurocon, Shamrokon, in Dublin.
History
- 1989/1990: The convention was initiated by members of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and named by artist Peter McCanney, who created the convention's first logo.
- 1990: Terry Pratchett was the first Guest of Honour of the convention.
- 1995: Advertised Guest of Honour Mary Gentle had to cancel her appearance at the last minute, leading to the appointment of Kim Newman in her place.
- 1997: This was also the year's official Eurocon, and consequently the largest Octocon to date.
- 1998: The only one-day Octocon to date.
- 2003: The convention took a break for a year.
- 2004: For the first time, Octocon was held outside Ireland's capital of Dublin, in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, where it was held for 3 further years.
- 2008: The convention returned to Dublin.
- 2009: The first Golden Blaster was awarded.
- 2014: There was no October convention this year. Instead a lot of the regular organizers helped run the official Eurocon, Shamrokon, in August.
Golden Blasters
The awards now include the Golden Blaster, The Silver Blaster and the award for the best script.
| Year | Golden Blaster | Silver Blaster | Best Script |
| 2009 | Silent City | ||
| 2010 | Übermensch | The Astronomer's Sun | He Knows by Stuart Creque |
| 2011 | Hai In Mano Il Tuo Futuro! | Hai In Mano Il Tuo Futuro! | Wet Rot by Stuart Creque |
| 2012 | Shoreditch Slayer | CRYO | This Vehicle Has Been Checked For Sleeping Children by John Burdeaux In 2012 the judges of the scripts wanted to make an honourable mention of both Pet by Eoin O’Faolain & The Vox-Warrior Princess by Fiona Mustard. |
| 2013 | Locked Up | Sleepworking | An Bean Sidhe by Eoin O'Sullivan |
| 2014 | ON/OFF | Steadfast Stanley | The Borders of the Imagination In 2014 the judges of the scripts wanted to make an honourable mention of both Once A Hero by Neil Chase and The Almost Dead by Stanley B Eisenhammer |
| 2015 | C.T.R.L | The Detectives of Noir Town | The Dirty Naturals Where's my Bunny? |
| 2016 | The Way Back | They Will All Die In Space | Message through the Stars |
| 2017 | Einstein Rosen | Einstein Rosen |
In 2018 it was decided to have a "Best of best" award given in place of the usual structure. The overall winner was the 2017 Einstein Rosen short film.
Events
Locations
- Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
- Dublin Castle
- Royal Dublin Hotel, Dublin
- Doubletree by Hilton, Dublin
- Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare
- Camden Court Hotel, Dublin
- Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown, Dublin