Family syndicate revealed as winners of record €250m EuroMillions jackpot in Cork
The €250m winning ticket was sold at Clifford’s Centra on Shandon Street in Cork City. File picture: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
The winners of the €250m EuroMillions jackpot that was won last month have been revealed as a family syndicate from Ireland.
The winning ticket was sold on Cork's Shandon Street and is the largest Lotto prize ever won in Ireland.
The family has chosen to remain anonymous and described the win as “surreal”. One of the family members said they had an appointment in Cork and they stopped off in Clifford’s Centra on Shandon Street to pick up a few messages.
“I saw the sign at the till that the EuroMillions jackpot was €250m,” they said. “Although I’m a regular player, I hadn’t bought a ticket for the last two draws. I picked one up and honestly, didn’t think much of it.”
They said they were watching the news that night and saw there had been a winner of the EuroMillions.
"So naturally, I got my ticket and scanned it on the National Lottery app, and a message popped up, ‘You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery’. Obviously, this wasn’t a message that I was used to seeing, so I must have checked it four more times, I just couldn't believe my eyes," they said.
“I ran upstairs to my wife who had just gone to bed and woke her up. We both checked the numbers multiple times on the website. We sat at the edge of the bed, saying ‘Oh my god’ over and over — I reckon we said it about fifty times. We were in total shock, complete disbelief.
“As you can imagine, sleep was out of the question that night.”
The next morning, the family rang the claims team, who confirmed they were the outright winners of the €250m, leading to more shock for the family.
Until they handed over the winning ticket, the family said they kept it carefully hidden, tucked inside an A4 sheet beneath a pile of folded laundry in the bedroom. They also continued to carry on with their daily routines until handing in the ticket to Lotto HQ.
When asked what they plan to do with their fortune, they said the first port of call would be a family holiday.
"We love to travel and there’s so many amazing trips we’ve always dreamed of that we can now make a reality. We’re already looking at holiday homes somewhere in the sun.
“We also feel incredibly fortunate now to be in a position where we can buy homes for our children too.”
The family, who followed advice to seek independent legal and financial guidance, also plans to support their wider family and a few charities.
One syndicate member added: "I always dreamed of owning a Rolex watch, knowing that I could never afford it. I went window shopping last week just to have a look and couldn’t believe the price tag of some of the watches. When I phoned my wife to tell her, she said ‘sure you can buy them now if you want’!”
Despite the life-changing win, the family said they plan on staying grounded and have promised that "we won’t let this win change us".
As one member of the syndicate said: “I'll still be having my favourite ham and cheese sambo for lunch every day!"
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