Octocon is the name given to the National Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 Science Fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 Convention, held (almost) annually in October.

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.

1995: Advertised Guest of Honour Mary Gentle

Mary Gentle

-Literary career:Mary Gentle's first published novel was Hawk in Silver , a young-adult fantasy. She came to prominence with the Orthe duology, which consists of Golden Witchbreed and Ancient Light ....

 had to cancel her appearance at the last minute, leading to the appointment of Kim Newman

Kim Newman

Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...

 in her place.

1997: This was also the year's official Eurocon

Eurocon

Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first Eurocon was held in Trieste, Italy, in 1972. Unlike...

, 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

Maynooth

Maynooth is a town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to a branch of the National University of Ireland, a Papal University and Ireland's main Roman Catholic seminary, St. Patrick's College...

, Co. Kildare.

Dates

1990

• Guest of Honour: Terry Pratchett
  Terry Pratchett
  Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 13-14 October 1990

1991

• Guest of Honour: Geoff Ryman
  Geoff Ryman
  Geoffrey Charles Ryman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing for University of Manchester's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 4-6 October 1991

1992

• Guest of Honour: Orson Scott Card
  Orson Scott Card
  Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 16-18 October 1992

1993

• Guest of Honour: Storm Constantine
  Storm Constantine
  Storm Constantine is a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.- Life and work :Since the late 1980s Constantine has written more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 30-31 October 1993

1994

• Guest of Honour: Robert Holdstock
  Robert Holdstock
  Robert Paul Holdstock was an English novelist and author best known for his works of Celtic, Nordic, Gothic and Pictish fantasy literature, predominantly in the fantasy subgenre of mythic fiction....
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 1-2 October 1994

1995

• Guest of Honour: Kim Newman
  Kim Newman
  Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 14-15 October 1995

1996

• Guest of Honour: Brian Stableford
  Brian Stableford
  Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 11-13 October 1996

1997 - Eurocon

Eurocon

Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first Eurocon was held in Trieste, Italy, in 1972. Unlike...

• Guest of Honour: Harry Harrison
  Harry Harrison
  Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
  
  
• Location: Dublin Castle, Dublin.
• Date: 25-27 October 1997

1998

• Guest of Honour: James White
  James White (author)
  James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending his early years in Canada. After a few years in the clothing industry, he worked at Short Brothers Ltd. from 1965 until taking early retirement in...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 10 October 1998

1999

• Guest of Honour: Robert Rankin
  Robert Rankin
  Robert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 9-10 October 1999

2000

• Guest of Honour: Michael Marshall Smith
  Michael Marshall Smith
  Michael Marshall Smith is a British novelist, screenwriter and short story writer who also writes as Michael Marshall.-Biography:...
  
  
• Location: Royal Dublin Hotel, Dublin.
• Date: 21-22 October 2000

2001

• Guest of Honour: Anne McCaffrey
  Anne McCaffrey
  Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 13-14 October 2001

2002

• Guest of Honour: China Miéville
  China Miéville
  China Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
  
  
• Location: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
• Date: 19-20 October 2002

2003 - No convention
2004

• Guest of Honour: Tanith Lee
  Tanith Lee
  Tanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. She is the author of over 70 novels and 250 short stories, a children's picture book and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of BBC science fiction series Blake's 7...
  
  
• Location: Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.
• Date: 16-17 October 2004

2005

• Guest of Honour: Charles Stross
  Charles Stross
  Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...
  
  
• Location: Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.
• Date: 15-16 October 2005

2006

• Guest of Honour: J.G. Jones
• Location: Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.
• Date: 14-15 October 2006

2007

• Guest of Honour: Alastair Reynolds
  Alastair Reynolds
  Alastair Preston Reynolds is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland...
  
  
• Location: Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.
• Date: 13-14 October 2007

2008

• Guest of Honour: Ken MacLeod
  Ken MacLeod
  Ken MacLeod , is a Scottish science fiction writer.MacLeod was born in Stornoway. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics....
  
  
• Location: Royal Dublin Hotel, Dublin.
• Date: 18-19 October 2008

2009

• Guest of Honour: Mike Carey
• Fan Guest of Honour: Dave Lally
• Location: Camden Court Hotel, Dublin.
• Date: 10-11 October 2009

2010

• Guest of Honour: George R. R. Martin
  George R. R. Martin
  George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
  
  
• Location: Camden Court Hotel, Dublin.
• Date: 16-17 October 2010

2011

• Guest of Honour: John Higgins
  John Higgins (comics)
  John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.-Biography:...
  
  
• Location: Camden Court Hotel, Dublin.
• Date: 15-16 October 2011