# Octocon

Octocon, the National Irish Science Fiction Convention, first held in 1989, is held (almost) 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. It was virtual in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.

## 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, County 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 Golden Blasters are the National Irish Science Fiction Awards for short science fiction, fantasy or horror films. Submissions can and have come from anywhere in the world, and the winners are selected by audience vote and a panel of judges.
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 (Director Rurairi Robinson) | | |
| 2010 | Übermensch (Directed by Simon Temple and written by Daniel Poole) | The Astronomer's Sun (Written and directed by Simon Cartwright & Jessica Cope) | He Knows by Stuart Creque |
| 2011 | Hai In Mano Il Tuo Futuro! (Directed by Enrico Maria Artale) | Hai In Mano Il Tuo Futuro! (Directed by Enrico Maria Artale) | Wet Rot by Stuart Creque |
| 2012 | Shoreditch Slayer (Directed by Simon Levene) | CRYO (Directed by Luke Doolan) | This Vehicle Has Been Checked For Sleeping Children by John Burdeaux Honourable mentions: Pet by Eoin O’Faolain and The Vox-Warrior Princess by Fiona Mustard. |
| 2013 | Locked Up (Written and directed Jane Eakin) | Sleepworking (Written and directed by Gavin Williams) | An Bean Sidhe by Eoin O'Sullivan |
| 2014 | ON/OFF (Directed by Thierry Lorenzi) | Steadfast Stanley (Directed by John Kim) | The Borders of the Imagination (Written by Benjamin A Friedman) Honourable mentions: Once A Hero by Neil Chase and The Almost Dead by Stanley B Eisenhammer |
| 2015 | C.T.R.L (Directed by Mariana Conde) | The Detectives of Noir Town (Directed by Andrew Chambers) | The Dirty Naturals Where's my Bunny? (Written by Derek Wills) |
| 2016 | The Way Back (Directed by John Carlin) | They Will All Die In Space (Directed by Javier Chillon) | Message through the Stars (Written by Vijay Varman) |
| 2017 | Einstein Rosen (Directed by Olga Osorio) | Einstein Rosen (Written by Olga Osorio) | |
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

| Year | Guests of Honour | Location | Date |
| 1990 | Terry Pratchett | Royal Marine Hotel | 13–14 October 1990 |
| 1991 | Geoff Ryman | Royal Marine Hotel | 4–6 October 1991 |
| 1992 | Orson Scott Card | Royal Marine Hotel | 16–18 October 1992 |
| 1993 | Storm Constantine | Royal Marine Hotel | 30–31 October 1993 |
| 1994 | Robert Holdstock | Royal Marine Hotel | 1–2 October 1994 |
| 1995 | Kim Newman | Royal Marine Hotel | 14–15 October 1995 |
| 1996 | Brian Stableford | Royal Marine Hotel | 11–13 October 1996 |
| 1997 – Eurocon | Harry Harrison | Dublin Castle, Dublin | 25–27 October 1997 |
| 1998 - Octocon Lite | James White | Royal Marine Hotel | 10 October 1998 |
| 1999 | Robert Rankin | Royal Marine Hotel | 9–10 October 1999 |
| 2000 | Michael Marshall Smith | Royal Dublin Hotel | 21–22 October 2000 |
| 2001 | Anne McCaffrey | Royal Marine Hotel | 13–14 October 2001 |
| 2002 | China Miéville | Royal Marine Hotel | 19–20 October 2002 |
| 2003 - no event | | | |
| 2004 | Tanith Lee | Glenroyal Hotel | 16–17 October 2004 |
| 2005 | Charles Stross | Glenroyal Hotel | 15–16 October 2005 |
| 2006 | J. G. Jones | Glenroyal Hotel | 14–15 October 2006 |
| 2007 | Alastair Reynolds | Glenroyal Hotel | 13–14 October 2007 |
| 2008 | Ken MacLeod | Royal Dublin Hotel | 18–19 October 2008 |
| 2009 | Mike Carey Fan Guest Dave Lally | Camden Court Hotel | 10–11 October 2009 |
| 2010 | George R. R. Martin | Camden Court Hotel | 16–17 October 2010 |
| 2011 | John Higgins | Camden Court Hotel | 15–16 October 2011 |
| 2012 | Liz Williams | Camden Court Hotel | 13–14 October 2012 |
| 2013 | Richard K. Morgan and Gail Simone | Camden Court Hotel | 12–13 October 2013 |
| 2014 – No Octocon, per above & * | | | |
| 2015 | Maura McHugh and Emma Newman | Camden Court Hotel | 19–11 October 2015 |
| 2016 | Rhianna Pratchett, Diane Duane and Peter Morwood | Camden Court Hotel | 14–16 October 2016 |
| 2017 | Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent Abnett | Camden Court Hotel | October 2017 |
| 2018 | Pat Cadigan and Colleen Doran | Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown | 19 - 21 October 2018 |
| 2019 - 1-day due to August Worldcon in Dublin | Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, Ruth Frances Long, Peadar Ó Guilín | Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown | 13 October 2019 |
| 2020 | Michael Carroll (and fan GoHs Helen and Philippa Ryder | Virtual due to pandemic | 9 - 11 October 2020 |
| 2021 | No GoHs | Virtual due to pandemic | 1 - 3 October 2021 |
| 2022 | Michael Carroll (and fan GoHs Helen and Philippa Ryder | Croke Park Convention Centre & online | 15 - 16 October 2022 |
* Shamrokon, a Eurocon, was run 22 to 24 August, at the Doubletree by Hilton, Dublin, with guest authors Michael Carroll, Seanan McGuire, Andrzej Sapkowski, translator Ylva Spångberg and artist Jim Fitzpatrick. Unlike 1997, this was not an Octocon.