This article is about the National Irish Science Fiction Convention. For other uses, see Octocon (disambiguation).

Octocon, Ireland
Octocon, Ireland logo
GenreScience fiction, fantasy
LocationDublin
CountryIreland
Inaugurated1990
Websitehttps://octocon.com/

Octocon, the National Irish Science Fiction Convention, begun as a project in 1989, was first held in 1990, and is held (almost) annually over a weekend in October. It has mostly been staged in Dublin, but for four years was in the university town of Maynooth and the 2026 edition is running in Cork.[1] It was not held in 2003, or in 2014, when Ireland hosted that year's Eurocon, Shamrokon, in Dublin.[2][3] The convention was virtual in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in October 2022 the first hybrid convention was held both at Croke Park convention centre and online, and 2023 and 2024 at both the Gibson Hotel in East Wall, and online.[1]

History

Kristian Nairn and George R. R. Martin at Octocon
Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn (Hodor) and Writer George R. R. Martin at Octocon in Dublin, 17 October 2010.

The convention was initiated by members of the Irish Science Fiction Association in 1989,[4] and named by artist Peter McCanney, who created the convention's first logo.[5] The first convention was in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dublin in 1990 with Terry Pratchett as the first Guest of Honour.[2][6][7][8] In 1995, advertised Guest of Honour Mary Gentle had to cancel at the last minute, and Kim Newman was appointed in her place.[citation needed]

The two years where Ireland hosted Eurocon were 1997 and 2014. In 1997 the convention was in Dublin Castle and became the largest Octocon to date. In 2014 there was no official Octocon and instead the usual organisers were involved in running Shamrokon in August.[1]

2003 was the first year to miss holding the event.[1][2] Over the years there have been a few one day conventions. The first was 1998 and the next was 2019 when Ireland hosted Dublin 2019 Worldcon.[1][2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was held entirely online. [9] It remained online in 2021.[10] The first hybrid event was held in Croke Park in 2022. [4] In 2025 the convention was in person for 1 day and on line for the next day.[11]

While the convention is mostly held in Dublin, 2004 saw it move to Maynooth, County Kildare, where it remained for the next 3 years before returning to Dublin again in 2008. 2026 saw the convention move to Cork (city). 2027 is expected to be held in Waterford.[1]

The Golden Blasters were first awarded in 2009.[12][13]

Conventions

Year Guests of Honour Location Date Ref
1990 Terry Pratchett Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 13–14 October 1990 [2]
1991 Geoff Ryman Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 4–6 October 1991 [2]
1992 Orson Scott Card Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 16–18 October 1992 [2]
1993 Storm Constantine Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 30–31 October 1993 [2]
1994 Robert Holdstock Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 1–2 October 1994 [2]
1995 Kim Newman Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 14–15 October 1995 [2]
1996 Brian Stableford Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 11–13 October 1996 [2]
1997 – Eurocon Harry Harrison Dublin Castle, Dublin 25–27 October 1997 [2]
1998 - Octocon Lite James White Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 10 October 1998 [2]
1999 Robert Rankin Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 9–10 October 1999 [2]
2000 Michael Marshall Smith Royal Dublin Hotel, Dublin 21–22 October 2000 [2]
2001 Anne McCaffrey Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 13–14 October 2001 [2]
2002 China Miéville Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire 19–20 October 2002 [2]
2003 - no event [2]
2004 Tanith Lee Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth 16–17 October 2004 [2]
2005 Charles Stross Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth 15–16 October 2005 [2]

J. G. Jones

Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth 14–15 October 2006 [2]
2007 Alastair Reynolds Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth 13–14 October 2007 [2]
2008 Ken MacLeod Royal Dublin Hotel, Dublin 18–19 October 2008 [2]
2009 Mike Carey
Fan Guest Dave Lally 		Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 10–11 October 2009 [2]
2010 George R. R. Martin Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 16–17 October 2010 [2][14]
2011 John Higgins Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 15–16 October 2011 [2]
2012 Liz Williams Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 13–14 October 2012 [2]
2013 Richard K. Morgan and Gail Simone Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 12–13 October 2013 [2]
2014 – No Octocon, per above & * [2]
2015 Maura McHugh and Emma Newman Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 9–11 October 2015 [2][15]
2016 Rhianna Pratchett, Diane Duane and Peter Morwood Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 14–16 October 2016 [2][6][16]
2017 Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent Abnett Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 6-8 October 2017 [2][17]
2018 Pat Cadigan and Colleen Doran Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown 19 - 21 October 2018 [2][3][18]
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 [2]
2020 Michael Carroll (and fan GoHs Helen and Philippa Ryder) Virtual due to pandemic 9 - 11 October 2020 [2][9]
2021 No GoHs Virtual due to pandemic 1 - 3 October 2021 [2][10]
2022 Michael Carroll (and fan GoHs Helen and Philippa Ryder) Croke Park Convention Centre, Dublin & online 15 - 16 October 2022 [2][4]
2023 Sarah Rees Brennan The Gibson Hotel, Dublin 7-8 October 2023 [2][19]
2024 Ruth Frances Long The Gibson Hotel, Dublin 5-6 October 2024 [2]
2025 No GoH The Maldron Hotel, Dublin and Online 11-12 October 2025 [2][11]
2026 C.E. Murphy and Adrian Tchaikovsky Clayton Hotel, Cork 3-4 October 2026 [2][20]

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.[22][15]

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 Willis)
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)
2019[23] Gryphon Animo, directed by Matthew Maloney Gryphon Animo, directed by Matthew Maloney Recurse (written by Lucas Vossoughi)

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.

In 2019 the founder of the Golden Blasters, John Vaughan, stepped down from managing the award for reasons of ill health. While a new team was appointed, the Golden Blasters did not appear in the convention's schedule following the pandemic.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "About Octocon". Octocon. 17 September 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao "History of Octocon and Previous Guests of Honour". Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Convention Connection: Geek Culture Conventions for Week 42 2018". GeekDad. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Bacon, James (2 November 2022). "Octocon 2022". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  5. ^ "Octocon - Master Index". fanac.org. Fan Archive Online.
  6. ^ a b Delaney, Caroline (6 October 2016). "Meet Rhianna Pratchett - The woman behind the Lara Croft backstory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  7. ^ Smythe, Colin. "A Terry Pratchett Chronology". Colin Smythe.
  8. ^ "Octocon 2020 Programme Book". Issuu. 9 October 2020.
  9. ^ a b Glyer, Mike (21 September 2020). "Starburst Hero Award Launched". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  10. ^ a b Glyer, Mike (27 October 2021). "Pixel Scroll 10/27/21 Just Pixel A Name At Random From Your Scrollodex". File 770. Item 14, "Virtual Irish Convention". Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  11. ^ a b Bacon, James (24 October 2025). "Octocon 2025 Report by James Bacon". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  12. ^ Shabbir (30 November 2018). "Dublin 2019 to host Irish Science Fiction Film Festival and Golden Blaster Awards". ComicBuzz.
  13. ^ "IMDB".
  14. ^ Glyer, Mike (31 January 2010). "GRRM Octocon 2010 GoH". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  15. ^ a b Glyer, Mike (11 October 2015). "2015 Golden Blasters". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  16. ^ Glyer, Mike (26 October 2016). "Pixel Scroll 10/26/16 The Tick Against the Box". File 770. Item 4, "Octocon". Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  17. ^ Bacon, James (17 October 2017). "Octocon 2017". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  18. ^ Glyer, Mike (11 October 2018). "Pitch In For Octocon". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  19. ^ Bacon, James (9 October 2023). "Octocon 2023: The Irish National Science Fiction Convention". File 770. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  20. ^ "Octovon 2026". Retrieved 5 October 2026.
  21. ^ "Welcome to Shamrokon".
  22. ^ "Octocon Presents..." Dublin 2019. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  23. ^ a b "The Golden Blasters 2019". 29 August 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2025.