Ireland's Harry Potter fans have just hours to wait for the release of the final book in the record-breaking series.
Copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollowshave been distributed to bookshops for release at midnight tonight. It is estimated up to 250,000 copies of the book will be sold in Ireland in the next few days.
Two French Harry Potter fans queue outside Waterstones bookshop in Piccadilly, London today awaiting the release of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' which goes on sale at midnight tonight. Image: Getty Images.
The last Harry Potter title The Half Blood Prince -sold more than two million copies in Ireland and Britain on the first weekend of its publication.
Harry Potter parties will be held tonight at all 42 Eason stores; all branches of Dubray books; and Hughes and Hughes stores in St Stephen's Green, Santry, Nutgrove, Dún Laoghaire, Swords, Dundalk, Galway, Wexford, and Ennis.
Libraries are also celebrating with midnight openings or parties in the next few days in Monaghan, Mayo, Wicklow, Tipperary, Clare, Wexford and Dublin.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has warned fans against reading internet sites carrying copies of pages supposedly scanned from the book. She urged readers to wait a little longer to find out at first hand how the Potter story ends.
Yesterday, Rowling criticised US newspapers for publishing early reviews of the Deathly Hallowsbefore it is published.
The New York Timesis among those to reveal a succession of plot spoilers for the seventh and final instalment. A US online retailer also shipped up to 1,200 copies of the book to customers on Tuesday - breaking the strict embargo.