The final Harry Potter saga has even cast its spell on politicians. "I'm on page 53", Minister for Education Mary Hanafin told Evanna Lynch, the young Irish actress who played the Luna Lovegood character in the fifth Potter movie, Order of the Phoenix.
Ms Hanafin met the actress and avowed Harry Potter fan at DCU yesterday on her tour of the Centre for Talented Youth Ireland (CTYI). When Ms Lynch (15) emerged from her creative writing course at CTYI to meet the Minister, she was approached by a young Italian student, who presented her with the latest Potter tome. Leaps of excitement ensued when the book was signed by the actress and incorporated into the photo shoot that followed.
She gave all media questions wide-eyed consideration and answered the Minister's questions about the Potter film set without showing any consciousness of the cameras that were trained on her.
Ms Lynch is due on the school of wizardry set for the penultimate Harry Potter film shoot in September. "I don't miss out on school, because I have a tutor who does my course work from home with me", she told The Irish Times.
Ms Hanafin also met several classes of other, talented students who are taking part in courses at CTYI, which provides a "stimulating academic experience" for children of high academic ability.
Primary and second-level students come from different parts of the country and from overseas for the educational summer course. However, the Minister said that though all schools are encouraged to recommend children for the programme, CTYI is "not yet fully inclusive", because of the high cost of residential fees.Colm O'Reilly, director of CTYI said they "try not to turn any child away for financial reasons".
The Minister asked many of the students that she met for their expert advice in their different areas of study.
"So how should I communicate with people when I'm canvassing?" she asked students in the speech therapy class.
"You should also communicate with the needs of the person you're talking too" and "be sure to make eye-contact, but not too intensely," they replied.