€87m jackpot winner a mystery

Mystery still surrounds the identity of the lucky person — or persons — who won nearly €87m in Friday’s Euromillions draw.

It is not yet known where the almost-priceless ticket was bought, as the National Lottery remained tight- lipped over the weekend about the whereabouts of the agent who sold it.

All that is known — publicly, at least — is that the €86.7m ticket was sold in the Republic. It is not known when or where, whether it was a quick-pick, multi-draw, or any other form of ticket. Or whether, if the ticket-holder is aware of their good fortune or, rather, massive fortune.

The success follows Dolores McNamara’s €115m windfall nine years ago. And one other Irish Euromillions win was also worth more than Friday’s, when a ticket bought in Beaumont on Dublin’s northside earned its owner — or owners — €94m in June of last year. A June 2009 jackpot earned another Dublin player €29m on Euromillions, a year after a ticket worth €15m was sold in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, and a year ago this month a young man bought a ticket in Waterford City that ended up earning him €12.8m.

If you are wondering what you could do with €87m, there are probably about 86.7m answers.

You could pay off last year’s pay bill at the OPW, or restore the budget for the Government’s strategic regional and local roads programme to its 2008 levels.

Alternatively — and more likely — you could thumb your nose to the Government entirely by forking out €40m on a new private jet — the kind they apparently need to replace their (or our) own with — and still have more than half your winnings to roll around in.