Irish family celebrate after record €175 million lottery win

Feb 21, 2019, 8:24 am (6 comments)

Euro Millions

A family from a village outside Dublin, Ireland, has claimed a €175 million (US$198.7 million) EuroMillions jackpot after stashing the winning ticket in an Argos catalog under a mattress.

The family spent the day digesting and celebrating the news that it had won Ireland's biggest-ever jackpot.

"This is unbelievable. It will take us some time to get our heads around this win and to organise ourselves," said a spokesperson for the family, which has not been named.

"We are a very close family. We meet every week and we take holidays together every year. This is a dream come true for us. We don't want this to change our lives. What is so exciting is that we will be able to share this money with children, grandchildren and extended family members."

The lucky ticket was bought at a store called Reilly's Daybreak, in Naul, a village north of Dublin, prompting jubilation among staff and customers.

The winning numbers 1, 8, 18, 19, and 39, with Lucky Star numbers 7 and 9, in the Europe-wide lottery were drawn in Paris on Tuesday night.

A family spokesperson said the ticket had been kept in an Argos catalog under a mattress for safekeeping until it was delivered to the Irish national lottery headquarters in Dublin. Argos is a British catalog retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a subsidiary of Sainsbury's.

"I heard on the RTE news that there was a win in Ireland and I caught the last three numbers. I checked the rest of the numbers online.

"I was numb. It took a bit of convincing everybody that we had won. I didn't sleep a wink all night.

"We need time to let this news sink in and to prepare to collect our winnings. We are a normal family and we don't want this to dramatically change our lives."

Miriam Donohoe, a spokesperson for Ireland's Lotto, said the ticket-holder was "surprising calm" in the initial phone call claiming the win.

It is the biggest Lotto jackpot won by an Irish ticket-holder.

A couple from Moira, in County Down, Northern Ireland, set the island's previous EuroMillions record in January with a £115m jackpot.

Frances and Patrick Connolly said that upon realising they had won, they sat in silence and stared at each other for 10 minutes, then made a cup of tea. They told a press conference they would share the prize with 50 friends and relatives.

Previous Irish EuroMillions jackpot winners

  1. July 2005: Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland's first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million.
  2. July 2008: A lucky player from Co Tipperary won a €15 million jackpot with a ticket bought in Carrick-on-Suir in Co Tipperary.
  3. June 2009: A family syndicate shared the jackpot with a British winner, taking home over €29.4 million with a ticket they purchased in Dublin.
  4. June 2013: A winning ticket sold in Beaumount, Dublin, shared a EuroMillions jackpot worth over €187 million. A Dublin player earned half of the jackpot and picked up over €93 million.
  5. September 2013: A young man from the southeast shared a jackpot of over €25 million with a player in Spain, taking home over €12.8 million.
  6. April 2014: A jackpot prize worth €15 million was claimed on a ticket sold in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
  7. September 2014: An €86.7 million (US$109.2 million) jackpot was claimed anonymously by a syndicate from Dublin. The ticket was sold in Centra, Ballybrack, Co Dublin.
  8. January 2016: A syndicate of friends won over €66 million, splitting the jackpot of €132,376,632. The ticket was sold in Eason's store, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow.
  9. July 2016: 22 colleagues from Dublin Bus won the €23.8 million. The ticket was sold in O'Hanlon's Portarlington.
  10. January 2017: A Dublin work syndicate claimed the €88.5 million EuroMillions jackpot. The winning ticket was sold at the Applegreen Service Station on the M1 Northbound in Lusk, Co Dublin.
  11. July 2017: A syndicate from the West of Ireland won a €29 million EuroMillions jackpot. The ticket was sold in Garryduff XL Store on Pound Road, Castlebar in Co Mayo.
  12. December 2017: A family from Dublin won €38.9 million (US$46.5 million) on a ticket purchased in The Village Shop in Malahide Shopping Centre.
  13. In June 2018: 32 colleagues from Stakelums Hardware store in Thurles Co Tipperary share a €17 million EuroMillions jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Eason's Store in Thurles Shopping Centre in Co Tipperary.
  14. February 2019: A family from a village outside Dublin, Ireland, anonymously claimed a €175 million (US$198.7 million) EuroMillions jackpot after stashing the winning ticket in an Argos catalog under a mattress.

Guardian, Sun, RTE, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

CDanaT's avatarCDanaT

In the Argos Catalogue under a mattress?........ Green laugh

https://www.olcatalogue.co.uk/argos/argos-catalogue.html

Kind of a unique storage spot for a $175 Million ticket...BUT, it worked 

Congrats unnamed family. Have a wonderful debt free life and enjoy that next family vacation. Thumbs Up

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

Congrats on the win!

Lep

"We are a very close family. We meet every week and we take holidays together every year. This is a dream come true for us. We don't want this to change our lives. What is so exciting is that we will be able to share this money with children, grandchildren and extended family members."

Hopefully that will not change.

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

What is EuroMillions?

EuroMillions is the game with the kind of jackpots that will make you fabulously wealthy. Play for the chance to live the kind of lifestyle usually reserved for the rich and famous. The EuroMillions draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday.

How much does a EuroMillions ticket cost?

A EuroMillions ticket costs £2.50 and includes automatic entry into the UK Millionaire Maker draw, which creates new UK millionaires every week, guaranteed!

What is the UK Millionaire Maker draw?

Every time you buy a EuroMillions ticket you’re automatically entered into the UK Millionaire Maker game. It’s another chance to win a prize when you play EuroMillions and creates 2 guaranteed UK millionaires every week, with £1Million  prizes.

Look out for our exciting UK-only special event draws when multiple UK millionaires are guaranteed! Draws you definitely won’t want to miss!

Unmissable EuroMillions events

Look out for spectacular EuroMillions events throughout the year. There are eye-popping Jackpot Events with colossal jackpots up for grabs. Watch out for UK-only events too, with multiple £1Million  winners – sometimes also winning a luxury lifestyle experience, usually 5-star stays in amazing locations. And don’t miss our special European Millionaire Maker draws, when multiple millionaires are created across Europe.

Pop back and visit the website for news of these must-play events.

How to play EuroMillions

1. Simply select five numbers from 1-50 and two Lucky Star numbers from 1-12, or pick Lucky Dip® for a random selection. You also get an automatic UK Millionaire Maker entry with every line of numbers you play. You can play up to 7 lines of numbers on each play slip and buy up to 10 play slips at a time.

2. Choose the draws and weeks you'd like to play – you can play up to 4 weeks in advance or continuously by Direct Debit.

Play  EuroMillions  online every day from 8am (sometimes earlier) until 11.00pm. Remember that EuroMillions  ticket sales close at 7.30pm  on Tuesdays and Fridays for that evening's draw. Tickets are available again from 9pm – all tickets purchased after this time will be entered into the next draw.

If you want to make sure you're always in the EuroMillions draw,  play by Direct Debit.

You can also increase your chances of winning and share the excitement of playing EuroMillions by  starting a syndicate.

EuroMillions prize breakdown

Match 5 main numbers and 2 Lucky Stars to win the jackpot. If there's more than one jackpot winner, the prize will be shared between all the jackpot winners. Plus, match the UK Millionaire Maker code to win £1,000,000. It is possible to win both the jackpot and the UK Millionaire Maker on the same ticket.

Prize table for EuroMillions
Match Estimated win
5 Main Numbers + 2 Lucky Stars Jackpot
5 Main Numbers + 1 Lucky Star £227,848.80
5 Main Numbers £23,586.00
4 Main Numbers + 2 Lucky Stars £2,307.30
4 Main Numbers + 1 Lucky Star £123.00
3 Main Numbers + 2 Lucky Stars £78.00
4 Main Numbers £43.30
2 Main Numbers + 2 Lucky Stars £14.20
3 Main Numbers + 1 Lucky Star £10.70
3 Main Numbers £9.00
1 Main Number + 2 Lucky Stars £7.60
2 Main Numbers + 1 Lucky Star £6.00
2 Main Numbers £3.30

For more information about playing EuroMillions and UK Millionaire Maker online, see the  EuroMillions and UK Millionaire Maker Game Procedures.

How big can the EuroMillions jackpot get?

The jackpot can rise to €190 million (approximately £167 million based on exchange rate on 29th September 2017).

If it reaches this level, it will be capped - if the jackpot is not won, any additional money in the jackpot prize fund over and above €190 million will roll down to boost the prize money at the next highest tier where there are winners (most likely the 5+1 tier). This can happen four times before the €190 million must be won.

If this happens and the jackpot is still not won, the entire €190 million - plus any additional money in the jackpot prize fund over and above this amount - would roll down to the next highest tier where there are winners (most likely the 5+1 tier).

music*'s avatarmusic*

The Lucky ones hid the ticket and kept their silence. All the best to them now!

Bleudog101

Three positive, happy stories in a row.

Congratulations!!

MillionsWanted's avatarMillionsWanted

"Don't want it to change their lives"? Well, it will. They can now fantasize about what they're going to do with their money.

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