Is it about a bicycle? The influences of a comedic genius and their funniest book
15 Aug 2019, Thursday 11:00 - 11:50, Wicklow Room-2 (CCD)
Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman is a significant and well-loved novel, especially in Ireland. (One of its central characters, de Selby, has become a cult hero. Cited as Alan Moore’s favourite book, its prodigious footnoting was a major influence on Robert Rankin.) Yet it was initially rejected by publishers and finally issued only after the author’s death. See what our panel make of this!
Jenna Maguire, Pádraig Ó Méalóid, Nicholas Whyte, Nigel Quinlan (M)
Using SFF as sandboxes for ideas on politics and society
Format: Panel
16 Aug 2019, Friday 16:00 - 16:50, Wicklow Room-3 (CCD)
Speculative fiction can offer readers and writers a space, removed from ‘real’ life, to explore and criticise society and politics and offer possible solutions. From the economy of your galactic empire to the status of dwarves in your epic fantasy, it is impossible to separate the political from the fantastical, and SFF is a great place to imagine other ways of existing.
Nicholas Whyte (M), Sam Hawke, Eyal Kless, Taiyo Fujii
The 2019 Hugo Awards Ceremony
Format: Event
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 20:00 - 22:00, Auditorium (CCD)
The premiere event of the Worldcon will take place on Sunday evening, as we celebrate the best science fiction and fantasy of 2018. Hosted by Afua Richardson and Michael Scott, we invite you to join us in congratulating this year’s finalists and winners of the prestigious Hugo Awards.
Afua Richardson (M), Michael Scott (M)
Irish science and scientific discoveries
Format: Talk
19 Aug 2019, Monday 10:30 - 11:20, Odeon 3 (Point Square Dublin)
From Boyle’s Law to the later speculations of Schrödinger, Ireland and its scientists can claim many world-changing scientific discoveries. How did this happen? What linked Irish science with the island’s political situation?
Nicholas Whyte