JP v Dolores: from lavish meal to ham sandwich
While JP McManus was hosting a feast of all feasts for 1,500 people attending his daughter’s wedding banquet, Dolores McNamara nibbled away at a simple ham sandwich while stuck at Shannon Airport when a holiday charter to Turkey was delayed.
JP travelled in by private jet and helicopter to Martinstown from his Zurich base.
Down-to-earth Dolores was booked on a bargain sun charter to Bodrum with more than 200 other people.
One airport worker said: “Dolores was travelling to Turkey with her husband Adrian and son Gary, and his partner. When it was announced the flight was going to be delayed for more than an hour most went for a meal and drinks. However, Dolores got herself a ham sandwich.”
While she was waiting in the departure lounge a few hundred US soldiers arrived in on their way home from Iraq.
The airport source said: “Somebody told a few of them who the woman sitting near them was and what she had won (€115 million). Some of the soldiers stood for pictures alongside her for good luck.”
Dolores bought an apartment in Turkey some years ago and frequently travels over.
A friend of the family who asked not to be named said: “She is always on the lookout on the internet for a bargain flight to Turkey. She’s not a woman for splashing out on lavish holidays. It’s great that fame and money haven’t changed her.”
On arrival in Bodrum, the McNamara’s hired two taxis for the two-hour journey from the airport to the resort where the apartment is located.
Dolores is at present helping Gary finance a €2 million home near Castleconnell.
She bought a site for Gary costing €800,000 and the extensive building will cost more than €1 million to construct.
Extra security cameras will be installed as Gary was the subject of a kidnap scare last year and was advised by gardaí to leave Limerick for a period.
