CAROLINE Sharkey, an 18-year-old first-year student in the Regional Technical College, Carlow, had £2.50 in her bank account when she learned she had become the latest Lotto millionaire.
Last Saturday her net worth increased by £1,107,511, making her the second youngest jackpot winner since the Lotto started, and an attractive prospect for the poor and loveless.
"Will you marry me?" an impoverished photographer asked as she collected her cheque in the offices of the National Lottery in Dublin yesterday.
Ms Sharkey, from Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, took the proposal in her stride but the photographer remained impoverished and her £1,107,511 remained intact.
Her boyfriend, Mr Philip O'Brien (19), also a student in Carlow, had the dazed look of a man who has been hit with a gold-plated fist.
Ms Sharkey, who is receiving a grant to help her through college, did not appear to be unduly impressed by her newfound wealth.
She had attended college as usual on Monday before travelling to Dublin to receive the cheque with her father, Don, who works in Quinnsworth in Greystones, and her mother Liz, who is an administrator in Newcastle Hospital, Co Wicklow.
She will finish her college course before embarking on her career, probably in business.
Her immediate plans include a shopping spree and a holiday, probably in the Canaries. Otherwise, she was cool about her win.