'We're all absolutely delighted': Cork syndicate scoop €500k in Euromillions

A 14-strong syndicate of co-workers from Munster Joinery in Cork celebrated yesterday after claiming their €500,000 EuroMillions Plus prize.

The group travelled by train from Cork to Dublin to claim their winnings at the new National Lottery Headquarters on George’s Quay, close to a month after the successful draw on September 20.

The co-workers, from Cork and Kerry, have been taking part in the lotto together for over a decade, and are no strangers to winning, having won a combined €8,000 in four EuroMillions draws over May, June, July, and October this year.

From this most recent, and biggest win, each member of the syndicate will take home €35,714.

Syndicate leader Seamus Buckley from Cork said: “I’ve been collecting the money and buying our tickets at Kearney’s Centra in Ballydesmond for 13 years.

“The morning after the draw, I saw on social media that the shop had sold a winning ticket, [and] our group chat went into overdrive.

“Everyone was asking, ‘Could it be us?’ I went in to check, and the machine told me ‘You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery’, [and] that’s when I knew.

“I rang the group, and some of them didn’t believe me at all — I’ve a reputation as a bit of a joker, but I wouldn’t mess about with something like this — I’d be in trouble at work on Monday if I lied.”

Despite their substantial win, Mr Buckley said that the group will not be jetting off any time soon to spend their winnings as there is still “plenty of work” to be done at Munster Joinery.

“We’re all absolutely delighted, but things went back to normal very quickly,” he said.

Another member from the winning syndicate said: “We’re a great mix of people from Cork and Kerry, all of us in our 50s and older.

“After we won, we went back down to Kearney’s for a celebratory photo where we bought the ticket.”

Earlier in the day, a family syndicate from Laois collected a cheque for €250,000 after winning the top prize in the Lotto Plus 2 draw on September 25, as well as another family from Dublin, who claimed a winning prize of €1.05m from a special Lotto Plus Raffle promotion held on September 28.

Nearly 30c in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish Language.

In total, over €6.5bn has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 37 years ago.

Last year, €227.9m was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.