Privacy plea as Dolores pockets cheque
Dolores McNamara, 45, finally arrived in Dublin yesterday to collect a cheque for over €115 million - a week after she first learned of her life-changing good fortune.
Over the past 48 hours, Dolores got a taste of what life as Ireland’s most famous lotto winner will be like, once the media became aware of her secret hideaway in a Cork hotel. She and other family members subsequently engaged in a game of cat and mouse with photographers as they were traced to a hotel on the Naas Road in Dublin on Wednesday evening.
The mother of six arrived at the National Lottery headquarters yesterday afternoon where she was greeted by a large crowd of reporters, photographers and curious bystanders.
Accompanied by her solicitor David Sweeney and family friend Pat Toibin, Dolores entered the building without making any comment.
A short time later, she was confirmed as the 72nd wealthiest person in Ireland as she posed nervously for photographs with a cheque for €115,436,126. She declined to answer any questions about her Lotto win.
Instead, Mr Sweeney read a statement on her behalf in which Dolores thanked everyone who had offered her good wishes.
“Dolores is absolutely thrilled with her win but realises that it will take some time for the implications of her win to sink in,” Mr Sweeney said.
He said the Limerick housewife had enjoyed a happy and contented life before winning the Euromillions jackpot last Friday.
“It is her sincere desire that she and her family will return to normality as soon as possible. She is absolutely determined that her feet and the feet of her family will remain firmly on the ground,” he added.
However, Mr Sweeney’s plea that Dolores’s agreement to pose for photographs should bring “a sense of closure” to the media attention which has focused on her over the past week is likely to fall on deaf ears based on the past experience of other large Lotto winners.
It is understood Dolores, her husband Adrian and other family members plan to take a foreign holiday soon in a further effort to avoid being the focus of the world’s media.
Last night, the family were believed to be enjoying more celebrations at a secret location, although Dolores’ neighbours were hoping the McNamaras would make an appearance at The Track bar, where she first discovered that she had beaten odds of 76 million-to-one.
National Lottery chief executive Ray Bates described Dolores as “a very, very special person”. “We’re very proud as we have a very, very nice winner,” he said.
