Offaly woman wins €21.5m in New York state lotto

THE luck of the Irish really came through for a waitress, originally from Tullamore, Co Offaly, who scooped a $21.5 million (€15.8m) jackpot in the New York State Lottery.

Patricia Daly Eisel, 40, a mother of three boys who lives in Long Beach, Long Island, and works as a waitress, matched all six lottery numbers, and said she “froze” when she realised she had won.

“When I checked my numbers I just started shaking. I was doing my laundry at the time and decided to check the results from the night before,” said Patricia. “All six numbers matched the numbers on my ticket and I froze. I composed myself, gathered up my laundry and went to a friend’s house to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.”

The draw took place on January 5 but Patricia only claimed her prize this week.

She told news crews when she accepted her prize that she was supposed to be in Ireland but the winter storm at Christmas kept her in Long Island and she bought the ticket.

Patricia moved to the US from Ireland in 1995 and says her first order of business after depositing her cheque of $7,907,313 — a lump sum she received after taxes — will be a trip to Ireland to see her mother.

Patricia’s brother Brian Daly flew to New York to be with her: “I am delighted for her. Life is going to get better for her.”

Patricia says she’ll give up her job to be a full-time mother: “I will buy a home, not a house, here in New York. Something very comfortable with a big fenced-in yard that the boys can run around in. I know they’ll be thrilled when I tell them. We’ll also buy a family dog to run around the yard with them.”