Pat’s feet stay on the ground
The postman and father of four from Kinsale shared last Saturday’s rollover jackpot of more than €14m.
Postman Pat — who unlike his TV counterpart has no need of a black-and-white cat for luck — could, however, be forgiven for believing he had entered some kind of cartoon fantasy.
Accompanied by a group of about 20 relatives including his wife Mary, daughter Christina, and mother Angela, Pat travelled to Dublin by a private bus hired specially to collect his cheque for €7,018,618 at the National Lottery headquarters.
“It might never sink in,” replied Pat when asked how he might be affected by his new-found wealth.
He added: “Why should I change? It’s life changing but maybe not for me. My feet were always on the ground and that is where they are going to stay.”
The soft-spoken millionaire said he planned to take a short overdue holiday to consider his future. Pat confessed that he has made no decision on whether to keep his job in the longer term with An Post, where he reportedly hasn’t missed a day’s work in 30 years.
Pat revealed that his extended family had given him a list of “small things and big things” — some no doubt encouraged by the book, Great Escapes Around the World, which National Lottery staff had helpfully left along side the copious quantities of champagne for the Broderick supporters.
“There’s plenty of us there. So, we’ll look after each other,” smiled Pat.
However, the only personal ambition he might fulfil himself would be to “join a golf club”.
Pat revealed the secret of his winning numbers was the ages of family members — a formula he has used for the past 15 years.
“I was lucky as there was another birthday coming up soon and I was due to change them,” he said.
He also indicated that he intends to keep playing the Lotto. “However, I won’t be seen doing it,” he laughed.
Pat’s wife Mary said her first reaction on hearing that one of the winning Lotto tickets was sold in the SuperValu in Kinsale was to hope that the ticket holder was “someone local”.
A worker at the Kinsale Community Play School, she claimed their good fortune might help the facility as it is being forced to find a new location due to the amalgamation of a number of local schools.
Daughter Christina, aged 23, said she hoped that she might get a few more holidays in addition to a planned trip to visit her sister in Boston in May.
The couple’s other children were unable to attend yesterday’s celebrations as Christina’s twin, Ann-Marie, lives in the US, while 21-year-old Louise works in London.
Their only son, 15-year-old Timothy, showed he was completely unfazed by all the excitement as he chose to stay at home in Kinsale because he had a GAA match.
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