A family syndicate has officially claimed the largest EuroMillions prize in Irish history, saying they were in “complete disbelief” when they discovered they had won €250 million.
Travel, homes for their children and a potential Rolex are on the cards for the family, they said, though they do not have anything “outrageous” planned yet.
The winners, who have chosen to remain anonymous, purchased a ticket at Clifford’s Centra on Shandon Street in Cork City after seeing a sign advertising the €250 million jackpot while picking up a “few messages”.
Although a regular player, one family member said they had not bought a ticket for the previous two draws, adding that they “didn’t think much of it” after purchasing the ticket.
While watching the news, the ticketholder saw that someone in Ireland had won.
[ The Irish syndicate that beat the Lotto: ‘It wasn’t illegal to do what they did’Opens in new window ]
“So naturally, I got my ticket and scanned it on the National Lottery app, and a message popped up, ‘You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery.’
“I must have checked it 4 more times, I just couldn’t believe my eyes,” they said.
The ticketholder ran upstairs to their wife and woke her up before the pair subsequently checked the numbers multiple times on the website.
“We were in total shock, complete disbelief,” they said.
They subsequently rang the National Lottery the next morning and received confirmation after several minutes that they had won €250 million.
“Those few minutes felt like the longest of my life,” the winner said, adding that they were in “total shock all over again,” after it was confirmed.
They kept the winning ticket carefully hidden inside an A4 sheet beneath a pile of folded laundry until it could be handed over, they said, while carrying on with their daily routines “as normally as possible.”
Once the winning ticket was handed over, they followed advice to seek independent legal and financial guidance.
Travel and homes for their children will form part of their plans with the winnings, they said, adding that they “won’t let this win change us” and plan to remain in Ireland.
“We’re absolutely going on a family holiday. We love to travel and there’s so many amazing trips we’ve always dreamed of that we can now make a reality. We’re already looking at holiday homes somewhere in the sun.”
“We also feel incredibly fortunate now to be in a position where we can buy homes for our children too,” they said.
They also plan to support wider family members and several charities, they said, adding that they do not have anything “outrageous” planned for themselves yet.
One member of the syndicate said they always dreamed of owning a Rolex watch, adding that they went “window shopping last week”.
