Convention Report- MCM Ireland Comic Con 2016

I recently attended MCM Ireland Comic Con at the RDS in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. This was a big moment for me as it was the first convention I attended with a press pass. It was the second time I had attended MCM Ireland following its debut show in 2014. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend last year so it was great to return this year.

I only attended on the Sunday of the event. Saturdays are typically the busiest of a convention so (if I’m not doing all of the days) I usually choose to go on the Sunday. This usually means the convention has a more relaxed atmosphere and this event was no exception. I was very pleased with the pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. It made me feel right at home after not being at a convention since late last year.

This years’ MCM Ireland had a strong guest line-up with the likes of Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols, Uncharted’s Nolan North and Doctor Who stars Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred in attendance. Other guests included artist Bob Layton and The Hillywood Show. While I unfortunately wasn’t able to get interviews with any of the guests, I did attend both Peter Davison’s and Nolan North’s panels. Both panels were great to watch and both were very entertaining. As one of the most prolific video-game voice actors, North was also asked on several occasions to answer questions using a character’s voice which made his panel even more entertaining.

I always look forward to seeing the cosplayers walking around the convention. It’s always great to see the amount of effort that everyone puts into their costumes and at MCM Ireland it was no exception. The quality of the costumes I saw at MCM were second to none and it was clear how much work everyone put in. My favourite was the Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) cosplayer, but everyone I saw on the Sunday should be pleased with their work.

The only area of the convention that disappointed me (though this is down to personal preference) was the merchandise being sold. When I attended this event two years ago I was really excited by the variety of merchandise on offer (particularly how some dealers had new releases and some were selling old Star Wars figures on the cheap). I love new releases and a bargain so I was disappointed that there wasn’t a lot of the latter this time around for me. This isn’t a criticism of the event as MCM have no control over what product the dealers brings to the event. However, only one of the dealers I usually go to at conventions here in Ireland was selling at this event. That said, I did manage to pick up four figures across a few stalls that I’m satisfied with- even though one of them was an impulse buy. The figures I purchased were Rey “Resistance Outfit” (Star Wars), T-Dog and Water Walker (The Walking Dead) and Noibat (Pokémon). Expect reviews on all four figures soon. The merchandise would have been great if you follow animé and video-games a lot (I’m a casual follower of both), and there was a great deal of variety in merchandise across the stalls, but unfortunately there weren’t a lot of options for me this time around.

In summary, I’m looking forward to seeing MCM Ireland Comic Con continue to grow in the coming years. They brought in some terrific guests for this event and, while it’s one of their few shows outside of the UK, I feel like it will continue to grow every year for the foreseeable future. I think they use the space in the RDS really well and have great activities going on throughout the day (both for adults and the kids). Hopefully I’ll be able to attend this event again next year.

By Ruari Williamson

*The opinions in this article are of the writer and do not represent the views of all of the Everything Geek Podcast staff*.

You can watch our footage from MCM Ireland Comic Con below: