I spent the weekend at Dominicon, a combined Science Fiction and Gaming convention at NUI Maynooth. I had only been to Maynooth college on one occassion before and that was in the 1980s. Otherwise, my experience of the town was limited to being stuck in traffic on the road between Galway and Dublin - pre bypass of course.
Maynooth has changed since. Without the queues of through traffic the town is charming. The college itself has changed and is now a full constituent of the National University of Ireland. The new North Campus is very modern and is still very much a building site, which it probably will be for the foreseeable future.
The convention itself was relatively poorly attended but those that did attend had a great time. Guest of Honour was Harry Harrison with John W. Sexton and Michael Carroll as guests.
What can I say. Harry was.... Harry. John was suitably provocative and Michael Carroll was devestatingly amusing. I was luck to spend time with all three - and Michael's beautiful wife Leonia - in a nearby hostelry while waiting for the convention to get going. Harry told me he's working on his autobiography, which is certainly something to look forward to. He's been a professional science fiction writer for over fifty years now and his life story is certainly colourful.
John's newest Johnny Coffin book - Johnny Coffin School Dazed - is to be broadcast on RTE Radio one starting in early April.
Michael's latest Jaye Carroll novel is due Real Soon Now.
As usual (?) I gave a lift to Padraig O Mealoid and Deirdre Walsh, as well as to Padraig's books. Despite the poor attendance, Padraig said he did well, certainly better than he did at Mecon a few weeks ago.
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