Lady luck’s feet still firmly on the ground

MOST of us can only dream of how half a million euro would change our lives but one Westmeath family has been taking such a bonanza in their stride over the past year.

Catherine Egan celebrated her 50th birthday early when she struck a €424,000 jackpot with an accumulator bet on a Sunday race meeting at Fairyhouse last January.

Although she was keeping an eye on the results of the seven races on teletext, she only thought she might have won around €5,000 from her €10 telephone bet.

That was before bookmaker Paddy Power rang her the following morning with the good news.

“I was at work when he rang and I had to get him to fax through confirmation before I’d believe it wasn’t one of my friends pulling my leg,” said Catherine from Curry, near Athlone.

But almost a year later, Catherine continues to work as a civil servant and husband Pádraig is still working in the motor industry. Their daughters Katie, 13, and Aisling, 10, were just as excited about the win and their mother says one of the things the family looks forward to most is a holiday in the United States to visit Disney World.

“The biggest thing we have done is to clear our mortgage and some other loans; it’s a huge relief.

“But we’d never move away and leave the area, it’s the best place in Ireland,” said Catherine.

The family’s only other major purchase during the year was a new car, upgrading from an eight-year-old model.

“We’ve been careful about planning ahead and not throwing it all away in one go, even though we’re not used to having loads of money,” she said.

“We’re still able to splash out on bits and pieces we would have had to think twice about buying before, but we’re also remembering to look to the children’s future as well,” she said.

When Catherine visited Paddy Power’s head office in Dublin to collect her cheque last January, the champagne corks were popping and no expense was spared in the celebration.

But almost 12 months on, unlike the horses who romped home for her last January, she has kept her feet firmly on the ground.