Butcher John brings home €3.7m Lotto bacon

“THANKS a million Dad,” said toddler David O’Keeffe after a butcher brought home the bacon in style yesterday.

As champagne corks popped, the two-year-old from Cork had more than three million reasons to be proud of his dad John. The Roches’ store worker won nearly €3.7 million in the weekend Lotto.

But he’s not going to let the gigantic win go to his head - yet.

“I intend to go back to work... soon,” Mr O’Keeffe said at National Lottery headquarters.

However, his immediate priority is a holiday in Barbados with his partner, Una, and David.

The family, from Barrack Street in Cork, were on a summer break in Tramore when they realised their good luck.

John purchased the winning ticket in Youghal Post Office en route to the Co Waterford beach resort last Friday.

On hearing of his good luck, he rounded up the family circle and headed for Dublin yesterday.

But John said he will finish off his holiday first.

However, he added: “We will hopefully have a nice foreign holiday. We have been in Barbados before and would like to go back - but this time I think we will stay in the Sandy Lane.”

Irish multi-millionaires John Magnier and J P McManus are part-owners of that plush hotel complex.

Mr O’Keeffe, who is in his 40s, works as a bacon hand at the Wilton Shopping Centre.

Food manager at the store Denis O’Riordan said yesterday: “It couldn’t happen to a nicer man. He deserves every cent. The whole staff wish him the very best and are delighted at his good fortune.”

His mother Eileen, sister Mary and brother-in-law Tony Keegan, along with sister-in-law Sharon Keegan toasted John’s success at the National Lottery offices yesterday.

The winning numbers in the roll-over prize were 7, 19, 23, 25, 29 and 34.