IS the west Cork town of Skibbereen the best place in the State in which to play the Lotto? This was the question being asked yesterday as news filtered through that the town has just picked up its seventh jackpot, and that at £6.2 million.
West Cork people are not renowned for divulging information on their personal affairs and nobody in the town last evening could offer any assistance on who won one of the biggest jackpots ever. But it was won in the town by a person or persons who did a £1 quick pick.
The winning ticket was sold at the Skibbereen shop owned by Mr Denis and Mrs Betty Crowley. It was the third jackpot ticket to be bought there. Four jackpot tickets have been bought at Pierce Hickey's shop, The Square, Skibbereen.
Mrs Crowley said: "The champagne is on ice at the local off licence and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the multimillionaire or millionaires. There is some speculation that a Dublin group might have won it, but we can't be sure. There was a mart on in the town yesterday and thousands of people were in Skibbereen. It is very hard to say. It could have been a local, it could have been tourists passing by - who knows?"
Two other customers of Mr and Mrs Crowley's shop in Townshend Street who bought Scratch cards were featured on RTE's Fame and Fortune Show.
"We still do not know who the quick pick winner is, but it has created a great buzz in the town," said Mrs Crowley. She added that customers had been flocking to the shop to congratulate her on the latest win for the supermarket. The excitement in the town had been unbelievable, she said.
"It's been incredible - because there are a lot of tourists about just now and because it was market day yesterday it makes it difficult to pinpoint who the winner is. Whoever it is, we hope they enjoy it," she added.