On Saturday March 19^th Harry Potter film star Evanna Lynch who stars as Luna Lovegood in the film series visited the Centre for Talented Youth in DCU and address the participants of Ireland’s first academic course centred on the world of Harry Potter. The Centre for Talented Youth Ireland (CTYI) based at Dublin City University provides enrichment courses for students with high academic ability.

The World of Harry Potter is part of the 2011 CTYI Spring schedule for 8-12 yr olds. The course runs over eight Saturdays and during this time students get the chance to learn about all things Harry Potter related. The course looks critically at the books and films of Harry Potter and analyses the various themes explored by the author JK Rowling.

Evanna Lynch from Termonfeckin County Louth plays Luna Lovegood in the film series. Her other claim to fame is that she is a former CTYI student who studied speculative fiction and drama at the Centre. Evanna visited the class to chat to the students about her experiences and also to answer any Harry Potter related questions. She will star in the final instalment of the movie series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which is due for release this summer.

The course is taught by Claire Hennessy an award winning children’s author and a former student of CTYI who published her first book when she was 15. There are 25 students enrolled on the course.

CTYI runs regional classes for 6-12 year olds at a range of venues around the country including University College Cork, Limerick IT, Galway Mayo IT, Sligo IT, Athlone IT, Carlow IT and IT Tralee.

The importance of providing supports for gifted children is acknowledged in the current Programme for Government.