A woman who was such a Harry Potter fan that her dad built Hogwarts in her back garden says she's not so keen on the wizard's stories any more. Megan Mackin, 24, adored the books as a child and would read them over and over again.
She was so obsessed with the JK Rowling stories that dad Sean Mackin, 55, even built her a mini Hogwarts - the school from the book - in their back garden. Sean's impressive structure remains at the family home 15 years on.
Megan - who has now moved out of the countryside home to study at university - admitted she's less of a 'Potterhead' these days. But she said that won't stop her sitting down to re-watch all of the much-loved films as they make their appearance on Netflix.
Megan said: "The castle is still in the garden - I'm not as big of a Harry Potter fan as I once was but it's still so special as it has been there since I was a little girl. I'll still be watching all the films for the nostalgia - it's such an iconic series."
Megan recalled how her Harry Potter obsession began from a very young age - and she would read and re-read the books repeatedly. The architecture student became a superfan, collecting a Gryffindor cloak and tie, Harry Potter wand, Hogwarts train tickets and of course all the books and DVDs of the films.
But the Hogwarts castle her father made for her in 2009, which took him almost a year to build, was always her favourite Harry Potter feature. She recalled being "speechless" when Sean first unveiled the tower for Megan and her sister to play in, as well as storing her toys in there and watching Disney films on her own TV.
She said: “The top tower room was great too because you can look out over the countryside and next door’s field would also have a cow or sheep in it. We had bean bags and all in it and a relative even gave us a sofa bed they were going to throw out.”
When she started her GCSEs, bar a few sleepovers, the student started to lose interest in her castle. She can still use it as a cosy den when she's back at home from university for holidays or placements, but the two-floor tower is now in worse shape than in her childhood.
Due to withstanding many years of unpredictable Irish weather, some of the wood on the exterior is falling away. But Megan says it is structurally sound, and because of the memories attached, the family refuse to knock it down.
The former Potterhead welcomes the films being introduced to Netflix - because it gives the younger generation a chance to appreciate them as much as she did. Megan said: "I may not be as big a fan as I once was, but its still the nostalgia and I'll definitely give it a watch on Netflix.
"It's mad how long we had to wait for it to be on a streaming service! "It makes it more accessible now - I don’t think the younger generation are going to HMV or CEX to buy the DVDs like we would have done!"
