History of Eirtakon
Eirtakon has come a long way from it's inception as a small college-society run weekend of diehard anime fans. Take a look back through the years with us!
The first Eirtakon in 2005 drew roughly 200 people and, despite a lot of it coming together in the final few weeks, ran quite successfully.
Eirtakon 2006 was unfortunately less successful, and in fact only took place in February 2007 (holding true to the society's required charter of running a convention every year), again with about 200 people attending.
Eirtakon 2007 proper (also known as Eirtakon 2007MKII) took place nine months later that November and drew over 400 people, thanks to a new committee and a renewed drive to bring Eirtakon to national and international attention.
Eirtakon 2008 saw the committee step up another level and brought famous voice actor Vic Mignogna over from America, which resulted in the highest attendance yet of nearly 800 people.
In 2009, Irish-American voice actor (and all-round lovely guy!) Kevin M. Connolly flew over from America and helped steer the convention to a record of over 1,000 attendees, with The Hub positively bursting at the seams.
2010 was a record year for Eirtakon and indeed anime as a whole in Ireland - over 1,200 attendees packed into our new home of The Helix, making it the biggest and most successful anime convention ever held in Ireland. Our guest of honour was frickin' genius Spike Spencer, who regaled us with his insightful and entertaining panels.
2011 became the biggest year yet with 1,550 anime fans attending! The Helix was packed throughout the weekend with the widest variety of events the convention has ever had, including hugely popular new additions such as Fair-takon and Cosplay Blind Date impressing the crowds. Special guests included voice actor Liam O'Brien, and artist DestinyBlue.
2012 beat all records with 1,908 otaku packed into the Helix in one weekend! Guests of honour Richard Epcar and Ellyn Stern were well received by their fans, with Richard even taking on the role of gameshow host for the new Eirta-Busters! Cosplay guests TealPirate and KellyJane from Parlé Productions wowed the crowd with their performances, and guest artist DestinyBlue extracted a lot of creativity from the crowd in her sessions. In addition, the Bunkasai added a new flavour of culture to the events at Eirtakon.
Year to Year
| Year | Date | Attendees | Location | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Nov 22-24 | Croke Park | ||
| 2012 | Nov 9-11 | 1908 | The Helix | GoH: Richard Epcar, Ellyn Stern Cosplay: Parlé Productions Artist: DestinyBlue |
| 2011 | Nov 11-13 | 1550 | The Helix | GoH: Liam O'Brien Cosplay: Judith Stephens Artist: DestinyBlue |
| 2010 | Oct 15-17 | 1200 | The Helix | GoH: Spike Spencer Artist: Anna Fitzpatrick |
| 2009 | Nov 13-15 | 1000 | The Hub | GoH: Kevin M. Connolly |
| 2008 | Nov 14-16 | 788 | The Hub | GoH: Vic Mignogna |
| 2007 | Nov 23-25 | 418 | The Hub | |
| 2006 | Feb 9-11, 2007 | 200 | The Hub | |
| 2005 | Nov 11-13 | 200 | The Hub |
The first Eirtakon in 2005 drew roughly 200 people and, despite a lot of it coming together in the final few weeks, ran quite successfully.
Eirtakon 2006 was unfortunately less successful, and in fact only took place in February 2007 (holding true to the society's required charter of running a convention every year), again with about 200 people attending.
Eirtakon 2007 proper (also known as Eirtakon 2007MKII) took place nine months later that November and drew over 400 people, thanks to a new committee and a renewed drive to bring Eirtakon to national and international attention.
Eirtakon 2008 saw the committee step up another level and brought famous voice actor Vic Mignogna over from America, which resulted in the highest attendance yet of nearly 800 people.
In 2009, Irish-American voice actor (and all-round lovely guy!) Kevin M. Connolly flew over from America and helped steer the convention to a record of over 1,000 attendees, with The Hub positively bursting at the seams.
2010 was a record year for Eirtakon and indeed anime as a whole in Ireland - over 1,200 attendees packed into our new home of The Helix, making it the biggest and most successful anime convention ever held in Ireland. Our guest of honour was frickin' genius Spike Spencer, who regaled us with his insightful and entertaining panels.
2011 became the biggest year yet with 1,550 anime fans attending! The Helix was packed throughout the weekend with the widest variety of events the convention has ever had, including hugely popular new additions such as Fair-takon and Cosplay Blind Date impressing the crowds. Special guests included voice actor Liam O'Brien, and artist DestinyBlue.
2012 beat all records with 1,908 otaku packed into the Helix in one weekend! Guests of honour Richard Epcar and Ellyn Stern were well received by their fans, with Richard even taking on the role of gameshow host for the new Eirta-Busters! Cosplay guests TealPirate and KellyJane from Parlé Productions wowed the crowd with their performances, and guest artist DestinyBlue extracted a lot of creativity from the crowd in her sessions. In addition, the Bunkasai added a new flavour of culture to the events at Eirtakon.