Galway Man Wins €4 Million Irish Lotto Jackpot
A man from Galway has wasted little time in coming forward to claim the €4 million Irish Lotto jackpot he won on Saturday, revealing that he spent most of the night walking around town because he couldn’t sleep. On a big day at National Lottery headquarters, a small family syndicate from Co Meath also received the €6.1 million prize they won last month.
‘My Mind Was In Overdrive’
There was only winning ticket in the main Lotto draw on Saturday 8th June, matching the numbers 9, 10, 34, 37, 40 and 47. The entry was sold near Galway city centre at Joyce’s Supermarket, Doughiska Shopping Centre, Doughiska Road. The owner of the store, Pat Joyce, revealed that he hoped the winner was a local, and that has turned out to be the case.
The winner decided to remain anonymous when he visited the lottery’s Dublin offices on Tuesday, but he was happy to chat about the moment he discovered that a seven-figure sum would be landing in his bank account.
He said: “I checked my ticket online pretty late that night and immediately one of the lines on the ticket jumped out at me. I knew I had a few of those numbers and quickly I realised that I had matched all the numbers! I couldn’t believe it. I checked the ticket again and again just to be sure but it was an incredible feeling.”
Stunned at what had happened, the man felt restless and was not sure what to do. He recalled: “I couldn’t sleep a wink after so I went out and took a walk around our town a few times. My mind was in overdrive. I think I walked until it was light out and I waited for the rest of the family to get out of bed so I could tell them the good news.”
Meath Winners Hid Ticket In Cupboard
The Lotto jackpot had rolled over five times in a row before Saturday’s draw, having not been won since the €6.1 million draw on 18th May. The winners from that draw chose to wait for three weeks and come forward on the same day as the Galway player, adding to the air of jubilation at lottery HQ.
A small family syndicate, they bought their ticket at Tesco Extra on Donore Road in Drogheda. The mother of the group said: “I felt a shot of adrenaline and checked the ticket and saw that the numbers matched. I couldn’t believe it. I just said to my husband – ‘How would you like to be married to a multi-millionaire?’
“He thought I was joking until I showed him the ticket. He downloaded the National Lottery app on his phone and scanned the ticket just to be sure and it said the ticket was a winner.”
The couple ‘never uttered a word to each other for the rest of the day’, before hiding the ticket in a locked bag and putting it in a cupboard until they were ready to come forward. They have yet to decide how to spend the money but they want to carry on with their lives as normal for now before enjoying some time off work later in the summer.
You have 90 days to come forward and claim any prizes you win in Ireland, otherwise the money is used to promote National Lottery games. You can also decide whether or not you wish to remain anonymous or go public.
The Lotto jackpot is set at €2 million for the next draw, while EuroMillions is worth €17 million, after a UK player won Tuesday’s €138 million top prize.
12th June 2019
