Family syndicate who bought ticket in Cork city claim €250m EuroMillions prize

A family syndicate from Ireland has claimed the largest EuroMillions jackpot prize in the nation’s history after a family member bought the ticket on a whim in Cork city.

The winners, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have described the experience as “surreal”.

One family member had an appointment in Cork and stopped into Clifford’s Centra on Shandon Street to pick up a few messages.

They said: “I saw the sign at the till that the EuroMillions jackpot was €250 million.

 “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.

“I was watching the Nine O’Clock News and saw that someone in Ireland had the winning EuroMillions ticket. 

"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!” the ticketholder recalled.

“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.” 

He added: “As you can imagine, sleep was out of the question that night” 

 Even still, they set an alarm early the following morning to call the National Lottery. Right on time, they got through to the Claims Team, and after a few tense minutes on hold, the confirmation finally came through - they were officially the winners of €250 million.

“Those few minutes felt like the longest of my life.

“When Ronan from the Claims Team confirmed we were the outright winner, needless to say, we were in total shock all over again.” 

TICKET WAS KEPT HIDDEN

The family kept it carefully hidden, tucked inside an A4 sheet beneath a pile of folded laundry in the bedroom but once handed over to the National Lottery they followed advice to seek independent legal and financial guidance.

They are planning a family holiday.

“We’re absolutely going on 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.”