IT has been revealed that the winners of Ireland’s largest-ever National Lottery win of €250m are a family syndicate.
Last month, a ticket in Ireland was the sole winner of the eye-watering EuroMillions jackpot, which eclipsed the country’s previous largest win of the €175m from February 2019.
But despite the life-changing sum, one member of the syndicate quipped: “I’ll still be having my favourite ham and cheese sambo for lunch every day!”
‘You’ve won big’
The family, who wish to remain anonymous, told the National Lottery that the winning ticket was bought in Clifford’s Centra on Shandon Street in Cork by one member who popped in for a few messages.
The ticket holder said that despite failing to buy a ticket for the previous two draws, he decided to buy one after seeing signs for the huge jackpot.
“I picked one up and honestly, didn’t think much of it,” he said.
“I was watching the Nine O’Clock News and saw that someone in Ireland had the winning EuroMillions ticket.
“So naturally, I got my ticket and scanned it on the National Lottery app, and a message popped up — ‘You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery’.
“Obviously, this wasn’t a message that I was used to seeing, so I must have checked it four more times, I just couldn’t believe my eyes.”
The man told his wife and the couple had a sleepless night before calling the Claims Team the following morning, who took a few minutes to confirm they were the winners.
“Those few minutes felt like the longest of my life,” the winner recalled.
“When Ronan from the Claims Team confirmed we were the outright winner, needless to say, we were in total shock all over again.”
‘You can buy it now’
The winners have been moving forward slowly but steadily, taking each step at their own pace as they adjust to their new reality.
In the short term, they are planning a family holiday but also want to purchase holiday homes in the sun, although they plan to remain living in Ireland.
They also want to buy homes for their children as well as support family, friends and charities.
There are no plans for any outrageous purchases just yet — aside maybe from an extra ham and cheese sandwich.
However, one member of the family has revealed he can finally fulfil a dream of owning a Rolex watch.
“I went window shopping last week just to have a look and couldn’t believe the price tag of some of the watches,” he said.
“When I phoned my wife to tell her, she said, ‘Sure you can buy them now if you want!'”