DUBLINIRELAND IN 2019

Worldcon in Dublin, Ireland 2019 Intentions, Plans, and Hopes for a Bid

Ireland has a rich tradition of story-telling, from ancient myths and legends told by word of mouth through the generations to the dark Gothic writers, from some of the greatest authors in the English language like James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, Brendan Behan, and Sean O’Casey to works of contemporary fiction including modern science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Celebrating that rich history while considering topics of the day and looking to the future is something that we would like to do at a World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland.

The plan is to launch a bid in 2014 at Loncon 3 and Shamrokon, and then fight to host the Worldcon in 2019.

Planning for a Worldcon is all- important, and even bidding is a serious undertaking as far as we are concerned.

Dublin is a superb location for a Worldcon, but it is our venue, the newly purpose-built Convention Centre Dublin, that has been the impetus for this endeavour.

Patient preparation has been under- way for more than 18 months, and here we would like to welcome you to Ireland, to Dublin, to the facilities and share with you where we are at this stage as well as our hopes and aspirations for the future – for a Worldcon in Ireland.

fÁILTEWelcome to our hopes, intentions, and plans to bring the Worldcon to dublin, ireland, for the first time in its history.

Dublin boasts over 200 hotels across a wide price range, but we will be looking to the hotels in the immediate vicinity to house our members. The main hotels within a ten minute walk are:

Clarion: 352 rooms (210m away)

Ferryman Hotel: 20 rooms (250m away)

Maldron: 304 rooms (270m away)

Jurys Inn: 239 rooms (400m away)

Gibson Hotel: 252 rooms (850m away)

Pearse Hotel: 101 rooms (850m away)

Total: 1,268 rooms within 850 metres or half a mile. The nearest hostel, Jacob’s, is less than a mile away.

There are two Doubletree hotels in close proximity. The Morrison Doubletree is located mile away along the quays, whilst the refurbished Doubletree Burlington is opening 2 miles away. The Dublin Hilton is 1.5 miles away. The Westin Hotel on D’Olier Street is part of the Sheraton group, only a mile away, and the Shelbourne Hotel, part of the Marriott group, is 1.2 miles. There are also plenty of affordable options nearby including Jacob’s Inn and Isaac’s Hostel.

Public transportation is readily available throughout the central Dublin area.

ACCOMMODATIONThe Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) sits on the north side of the River Liffey, looking south. It is a mile east of O’Connell Bridge, the absolute centre of the City. This proximity is a huge benefit, as Dublin has a vast amount to offer.

The CCD is part of the continuing development in the 21st century of the Dublin Docklands area, and is built on what was a railway yard next to the Royal Canal. The area has been fully developed.

In the immediate area, there are a number of restaurants to suit all budgets. Currently, the closest is the MV Cill Airne, a 1,000 person Liner Tender, that sits on the Liffey adjacent to the Convention Centre. It is less than 100 metres away.

Within a short distance (less than 500 metres or about a quarter of a mile), you can find a variety of restaurants in the newly opened chq building.

Historical venues such as The Custom House or The Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship are also to hand on the same quays.

At the back of the CCD (260 metres), there is a LUAS (Dublin tram) stop, which has trams running to Busarus (central bus station), Connolly Train Station, the city centre and westward, also calling at Collins National Museum and Heuston Train Station.

Dublin Ferry Port, with links to the UK, is only three miles from the venue.

LOCATION

Dublin Airport has direct flights from 24 airports in the UK and 100 airports across Europe.

Daily direct flights from Abu Dhabi by Etihad, and to Dubai, by Emirates offer connections to Asia and Australasia, while there are also direct flights to Turkey, North Africa and Israel.

Direct flights to and from North America include Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York JFK, Newark, Washington Dulles, Charlotte, Atlanta, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

The airport is a twenty minute taxi ride away, and is served by a number of bus services to Busáras, the central bus station,which is two stops away on the LUAS (tram) or a walk of less than a mile.

DUBLIN AIRPORT

Map of Local AreaYour quick guide to key services within 15 minutes walk of The CCD

74 7

TheFerrymanHotel

74 7

The Convention Centre Dublin

Spencer Dock, N

orth Wall Q

uay, Dublin 1

T: +353 1 856 0000 E: m

arketing@theccd.ie

ww

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RESTAURANTS

2 Il Vignardo at The Beresford Hotel3 The Good Bits4 Thai Spice8 Harbour Master Bar & Restaurant11 Ely Chq14 Toss’d15 Oly’s at Jurys Inn IFSC23 La Cuveé24 Dublin Wine Rooms26 La Corte31 Borlottie34 Milano35 J2 Grill & Sushi36 Kudos at The Clarion Hotel38 Swai39 Quay 12 at Cill Airne41 Coda Eatery at The Gibson Hotel49 Café Cairo at The Trinity Capital Hotel54 The Pig’s Ear76 The Southbank at The Ferryman Hotel79 Stir at The Maldron Hotel82 Crystal Boat84 Bridge Bar and Grill86 The Brasserie at The Marker Hotel89 Ely HQ90 Riva91 Herbstreet Restaurant92 Milano

PUBS

1 Café Le Monde at The Beresford Hotel 6 The Vaults7 Harbour Master Bar & Restaurant16 Oly’s Bar at Jurys Inn IFSC21 Lagoona Bar & Restaurant37 The Clarion Hotel Bar40 Blue River Bistro Bar at Cill Airne42 Hemi Bar at The Gibson Hotel44 Harry’s Bar45 Macturcaills48 The Trinity Capital Hotel Bar51 O’Neill’s Pub & Townhouse55 The Blarney Inn58 Lincoln Inn60 Kennedy’s63 O’Callaghan Mont Clare Hotel Bar64 O’Callaghan Davenport Hotel Bar67 The Ginger man69 O’Callaghan Alexander Hotel Bar73 Pearse Hotel Bar75 The Ferryman Hotel Bar78 Vertigo Bar at The Maldron Hotel87 The Market Bar at The Marker Hotel88 The Rooftop Lounge at The Marker Hotel93 Ocean Bar

CAF ÉS

5 The Pig & Heifer9 Munchies10 O’Brien’s 12 Starbucks Chq13 Insomnia17 Burritos & Blues18 Subway19 Insomnia20 Il Fornaio Cafe Bar22 Bar Italia25 Broadway Pizza Parlour27 Swedish Food Co28 O’Brien’s29 MYO Sandwich Bar30 Munchies32 Seven Wonders33 Bagel Bar43 Costa Co�ee46 McCabes Deli47 The Espresso Corner 50 The Pig & Heifer52 O’Brien’s 53 BrewBaker Café56 Café Crepe57 Insomnia59 Café Sol61 Café Tri via62 Café Sol65 The Westland Café66 Il Ca�e di Napoli68 Lunch70 The Pig & Heifer71 BG Café & Deli72 Café Parigi74 Munchies77 McCabes Deli80 KC Peaches81 Café H83 Il Valentino Continental Bakery85 The Art of Co�ee

Cash Machines

Dublin Bikes

Hotels

Parking

Shops

Tourist Attractions

TRANSPORT

Train

Luas

Bus

Li�ey Voyage

Airport Coach

SERVICES

Barber

Beauty

Car Hire

Dry Cleaners

Health/Pharmacy

Opticians

Dentist

Gym

Post Of�ce Services

Cinema

747

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Ireland is a place of tales, legends, books, comics, art, and make-believe, of the Celtic mythologies of Fionn MacCumhaill, the activities of the Fianna, Cu Chullainn and the Raid on Cooley, the Chasing of Diarmuid and Gráinne, the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Leannaí Lir.

IRISH fANDOMIreland has an interesting fan history, with Northern Irish fans breaking into the world scene in the late Forties, led by legendary fanzine editor Walt Willis and writer James White. ‘Irish Fandom’, as this was known, had a direct connection with later iterations of fandom in Ireland, with White being supportive of both incarnations of the Irish Science Fiction Association and attending the national con, Octocon, repeatedly.

Octocon has been a constant in Irish fandom since 1990, and those organising it have also gone on to larger conventions including the two Time Warp cons.

Annually there is no shortage of activities for fans, with two literary SF cons and many multimedia, comic, anime, manga and gaming conventions such as ArcadeCon, Eirtakon, and Nom-Con, and in the North, TitanCon. Ireland has the Emerald Garrison, a Star Wars cosplay group who have run Family Days for thousands. The college societies in Dublin have hosted and continue to host a wide variety of cons including Ireland’s longest running gaming convention Leprecon.

Comics have an actively strong presence with indigenous publishers and a wide variety of conventions and markets.

Plans to bring a World Science Fiction Convention to Ireland were first made known at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Octocon, Ireland’s national science fiction convention. Thanks to the discretion of Irish fandom, we have been able to hold back the public announcement until now.

At the recent site visit to the CCD, there were persons from 70s, 80s, 90s, and 21st century fandom. It will be crucial to a Worldcon in Dublin to be as welcoming and engaging as possible to all science fiction-related activities and organisers, as such an endeavour will require engagement across the various communities. Likewise, Irish fans will ensure that international fans who wish to help by bringing expertise, experience and support to an Irish Worldcon will be made to feel very welcome.

Ireland’s literary heritage includes Gothic writers such as Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker, Regina Maria Roche, and Charles Maturin as well as fantasists such as Jonathan Swift, C.S. Lewis, and Edward John Moreton Drax the 18th Baron of Dunsany. Today, writers including Michael Scott, Celine Kiernan and Michael Carroll to name only a very few are continuing Ireland’s fantasy tradition. Irish contributors to the science fiction field include James White, Bob Shaw, and Ian McDonald writing in English and Cathal Ó Sándair writing in Irish. From W.B. Yeats to Oscar Wilde, Flann O’Brien to Elizabeth Bowen, much of the work of Irish writers has been suffused with the fantastic.

Ireland has had fantastic children’s work from Sinéad de Valera, Eoin Colfer and Darren Shan, and in comics, story-tellers and artists include Garth Ennis, Will Simpson, John McCrea, Declan Shalvey, Will Sliney, Stephen Mooney, and Jordie Bellaire. Filmmaker Neil Jordan and playwright Conor McPherson are Dublin born and bred as are the artists Jim Fitzpatrick and Harry Clarke.

Ireland has always attracted those with literary genius from beyond its shores. Harry Harrison and Anne McCaffrey both made Ireland their home while Morgan Llywelyn spent part of her childhood here and has lived here for more than 25 years.

A LAND Of STORIES

By May 2011, the Convention Centre Dublin was hosting its 250th event, the historic first visit to Ireland of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh. Later during her visit, the Queen spoke as Gaeilge (in Irish), of which we hope many fans can also learn a few words. This year the CCD is hosting the International Craft Brewing and Distilling Convention, reflecting this growth industry in Ireland.

OUR VENUE

AT A GLANCESole use of the Convention CentreFully built-in technical support19 rooms of varying configurations, capable of seating 2,100 peopleSeating for 2,000 in the auditorium Nine secret barsFive spacious landing areas on all levelsA mixture of halls of varying sizesOnly one mile from the city centreStunning views of Dublin city

THE CONVENTION CENTRE DUBLIN

The fantastic looking Convention Centre Dublin was completed in 2010 and has already held a multitude of successful events. This modern venue boasts an incredible level of fully built-in technical support, which has allowed for future expansion and new developments.

The venue has 19 rooms of varying configurations, capable of seating 2,100 persons; the auditorium, which is suitable for programme plenaries as well as events, has very large and comfortable seats for 2,000.

The social scene is important, and the venue boasts nine secret bars. Spacious landing areas on all levels allow for break-out space: three halls (the Forum at 2721m2, and the Two Liffeys at 954m2 and 710m2), will host exhibits and hospitality areas. The venue is only a mile from the centre of Dublin.

The CCD chose to consult with Irish disability organisations at every stage, from the initial design phase through to staff training for evacuations. This has resulted in a venue that provides a welcoming and comfortable experience to every guest and user regardless of ability.

Some of the CCD’s accessibility features include a completely step-free environment with every meeting space being wheelchair accessible, Braille signage on all meeting rooms and loop systems in all public spaces. Irish fans and the CCD staff can work together to tailor the CCD’s seating, storage and catering facilities to meet the needs of all of Worldcon’s members. Consultations have already taken place with local fans who have access or dietary needs, to ensure inclusion is a core principle of a Dublin Worldcon from the very start.

Worldcon in Dublin, Ireland 2019 Intentions, Plans, and Hopes for a Bid

We will announce our intention to bid at LoneStarCon 3, in San Antonio, Texas in September 2013. There will be an OPEN meeting at Octocon in Dublin on Saturday, 12th of October. All are welcome. Interested parties will be offered subscriptions to the forthcoming bid from this stage. A visit to the CCD is planned for Monday the 14th of October for all interested parties. Irish fans will attend Eastercon 2014 and Arisia in Boston, and then the bid will launch fully at Loncon 3, London and Shamrokon, Dublin in August 2014.

THE PLAN

GOVERNMENT SUPPORTFáilte Ireland and The Dublin Convention Bureau have stated that they wish to support a Worldcon in Ireland. This support would come in a variety of forms, including monetary assistance if we are successful with our bid.

The Forum Ground - 3040 2000 2721 7m 8m 1 No

The Liffey 1 - 1806 1220 1650 7m 8m 1 Yes

The Liffey A 1 - 710 470 626 7m 8m 1 No

The Liffey B 1 - 954 610 897 7m 8m 0 No

The Auditorium* 3, 4, 5 - 2000 1 No

Liffey Hall 1 1 68 230 140 174 3.2m 4.3m 1 No

Liffey Hall 2 1 74 300 180 224 3.2m 4.3m 1 No

Wicklow Hall 1 2 70 230 160 187 3.2m 4.3m 1 No

Wicklow Hall 2 2 120 500 350 425 3.2m 4.3m 2 Yes

Wicklow Hall 2a 2 76 260 200 222 3.2m 4.3m 1 No

Wicklow Hall 2b 2 70 230 150 201 3.2m 4.3m 1 No

Liffey Meeting Room 1 1 30 78 50 69 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Meeting Room 2 1 40 143 80 107 3.25m 3.25m 0 Yes

Liffey Meeting Room 2a 1 34 60 50 66 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Meeting Room 2b 1 20 40 30 39 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Meeting Room 3 1 32 101 60 79 3.25m 3.25m 0 Yes

Liffey Meeting Room 3a 1 22 36 30 39 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Meeting Room 3b 1 22 35 30 39 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Meeting Room 4 1 16 34 30 41 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Meeting Room 5 1 20 50 40 51 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Ecocem Room 2 40 110 70 99 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Wicklow Meeting Room 1 2 40 102 70 84 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Wicklow Meeting Room 2 2 40 90 60 79 3.25m 3.25m 0 Yes

Wicklow Meeting Room 2a 2 22 35 30 39 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Wicklow Meeting Room 2b 2 22 40 20 39 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Wicklow Meeting Room 3 2 30 80 50 71 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Wicklow Meeting Room 4 2 30 70 50 65 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Wicklow Meeting Room 5 2 30 80 50 71 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Boardroom 1 1 8 21 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Boardroom 2 1 10 31 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Boardroom 3 1 10 32 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

Liffey Boardroom 4 1 6 18 3.25m 3.25m 0 No

LevelRoom BoardroomCapacity

TheatreCapacity

BanquetingCapacity** M2 Min.

HeightMax.

HeightAV Control

Rooms Divisible

Note: Capacity numbers are subject to change

All rooms are Wi-Fi enabled

* The Auditorium has 7 Simultaneous Interpretation Booths

** Banqueting numbers are based on oval tables of ten without a stage

WE

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ROOM CAPACITY CHART

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CONVENTION CENTRE – ROOM SPECIfICATIONS

Irish fans visit the CCD in April 2013.

BACKING THE INITIATIVEHome Team: Shelly Coleman, Carol Connolly, Pat Fanning, Malcolm Hutchison, Gareth Kavanagh, Dave Lally, Ted Lee, Ruth Long, Aisling Lynch, Cat McGrath, Maura McHugh, Alissa McKersie, CE Murphy, Sonia Murphy, Brian Nisbet, Mick O’Connor, Rod O’Hanlon, Peadar Ó’Guilín, Trish O’Flaherty, Sorcha Power, Helen Ryder, Philippa Ryder, Lynda E. Rucker, James Shields, Sten Thaning, Julian West, Nicholas Whyte.

Away Team: Eemeli Aro, Claire Brialey, Liz Batty, Steve Cooper, John Dowd, Vincent Docherty, Carolina Gómez Lagerlöf, Deb Geisler, Colin Harris, Nigel Furlong, Mark Herrup, Edward James, Alice Lawson, Mark Meenan, Farah Mendlesohn, Helen Montgomery, Mark Plummer, TR Renner, Ian Stockdale, Geri Sullivan, Paul Taylor, Kees Van Toorn.

If you are interested in helping please contact us at volunteer@dublin2019.com

www.dublin2019.com info@dublin2019.com facebook.com/dublin2019 @dublin2019