HARRY Potter mania swept the world last weekend as the seventh and final book in the wildly popular series finally made its debut, and Irish citizens certainly weren't immune to its charms. Eason's, the main bookstore in the country, reported tens of thousands of fans lining up early on Friday to get their hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and the torrential rains wreaking havoc on the summer were no detriment at all.

Fans decked themselves out in wizard costumes and were entertained by performers such as fire eaters and jugglers, and staffers at the stores were also decked out in Potter gear.

"We've never had such an incredible turnout," said a spokesperson for the chain.

Meanwhile, finally, the last episode of The Sopranos aired on Irish broadcast network RTE last week, and reaction when the screen faded to black was as uneven over there as it was here. For the most part, folks gave it a big thumbs down.

"If The Sopranos is novelistic in its scope, as has often been said, then this felt like getting to the end of the final chapter only to find the last page was torn out," wrote the reviewer for The Irish Times.