A large family in Co Kilkenny has become Ireland’s newest Lotto multi-millionaires after winning an almost €5.4 million jackpot in late September.
The family, who wish to keep their win private, claimed their prize through an approved postal claims process which has been introduced by the National Lottery due to the on-going pandemic.
The Kilkenny dad, who heads-up his family’s Lotto syndicate, realised they had won when he saw the winning numbers in a newspaper. The draw was held on September 23rd.
“We have been playing the exact same Lotto numbers for over 25 years so I could spot them from a mile off. I was queuing up in the shop when I spotted them out of the corner of my eye on the top of one of the newspapers,” he said.
“It was that exact moment, I instantly knew that we had won over five million without even having to check the ticket.”
The man returned home to tell his family, who thought he had bad news.
“Anybody who has ever played the Lotto will have fantasised about the first time that you break the news of a major win to your family and it was honestly everything like how I imagined it would be,” he explained.
“When I got through the door at home, I told them that I had something important to tell them and by the looks on their faces, I knew they were expecting some bad news.
He added: “Once I blurted it out, we honestly fell around the floor laughing and we haven’t been able to stop smiling since. It really is life-changing for all of us and we are going to enjoy absolutely every penny of this win as a family.”
The winning ticket was purchased at DeLoughry’s Gala store on the outskirts of Kilkenny city on the day of the draw, making it the 25th Lotto jackpot to be won in Kilkenny since the Lotto game began in 1988, totalling more than €34.7 million.
After two weeks of quiet celebrations, the Kilkenny family said they will knuckle down and start making serious plans to make the most of their newfound fortune, particularly in light of the financial hardship of the pandemic.
“We’ve had just over two weeks to let the win sink in but now we can start making real plans for our winnings now that we have the cheque in our hands,” the man said.
“We won’t be rushing into any silly spending sprees with new cars or any of that but the one thing we have all been looking forward to is visiting our own individual banks to pay off our mortgages. There really is no better feeling than that.”
