€94m winner contacts National Lottery to claim prize

The lucky winner of last night's almost €94 million EuroMillions jackpot has contacted the National Lottery to claim their prize.

The winner bought the ticket at an undisclosed Dublin location and wishes to remain private. The ticket has been verified.

It is the second largest jackpot win in National Lottery history and the winner will become the 96th wealthiest person in the State, according to the National Lottery.

A spokeswoman for the lottery declined to say if the ticket was bought by a single player or a syndicate. She also declined to identify the shop which sold the ticket.

The retail outlet that sold the winning ticket will receive €25,000.

The spokeswoman said the organisation would pay out the €93.9 million prize on behalf of the EuroMillions lottery. The jackpot had been rolling since June 7th. The spokeswoman said 84,000 EuroMillions players in Ireland won a cash prize last night and €4.9 million would be paid to charities in Ireland linked to the lottery as a result of the win.

There were two winning tickets sharing the top prize of over €187,937,614, the second highest win in Irish lottery history. The other winning ticket was sold in Belgium.

The numbers 4, 5, 13, 27, 35 and the lucky stars numbered 1 and 2 were selected out of a possible 50 numbers. Each jackpot winner will receive a prize of €93,968,807.

The National Lottery’s lotto.ie site slowed after news of the win emerged. EuroMillions draws are held every Tuesday and Friday night in Paris and the lottery is played in several European countries. All prizes are tax-free.

Last night’s win is the fourth time the EuroMillions jackpot has been won in Ireland.

A family claimed some €15 million after purchasing a quickpick ticket in Carrickbeg, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary in July 2008 but Limerick woman Dolores McNamara remains the State's biggest lottery winner. She won € 115 million in the EuroMillions in 2005.

The EuroMillions is played in nine countries; Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.