IRELAND’s biggest ever EuroMillions winner is being urged to “stay calm” and keep the €250MILLION ticket “somewhere safe” – as the search for the golden ticket gets underway.
The National Lottery has confirmed this morning that the life-changing ticket was sold in a shop and wasn’t bought online.
The lucky store will be revealed in the coming days.
The winning numbers are 13, 22, 23, 44, 49 and lucky stars 3 and 5.
Spokesperson Emma Monaghan told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “It’s great news for Irish players, we are delighted for the winner.
“They’ve now become the highest ever winner of an Irish National Lottery game. So that is some title to hold.
“If anyone has found they are holding the winning ticket, they should sign the back of it and keep it somewhere safe.”
Emma said the lucky winner should let the win “sink in” and consider getting some financial and legal advice.
The National Lottery will be waiting by the phones for the player to make contact in the meantime.
She added: “If at all possible, to stay calm, I know that might be easier said than done.
“Have a cup of tea and just let it sink in. Players do have 90 days to claim the prize.
“So I’m hoping that they will make contact before then.”
The EuroMillions pot reached its maximum cap of €250million on June 6, meaning the prize couldn’t grow any further.
The jackpot is more than double the €115million Limerick woman Dolores McNamara scooped in 2005.
Last night’s winner now claims the title of Ireland’s biggest ever lottery winner, eclipsing the €175.4million prize bagged by a family syndicate from Naul in Co Dublin in 2019.
National Lottery CEO Cian Murphy said: “The details surrounding the winning ticket will be revealed over the coming days. With such a big win we have procedures to follow, but we will reveal the winning location as soon as we can.
“While this is a massive win, it can come as a shock to a winner and we advise them to stay calm, get independent legal and financial advice and contact us as soon as they can.”
EUROMILLIONS WINNERS ROLL CALL
HERE’s Ireland’s big EuroMillions winners since the game started in 2005.
1. July 2005: Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland’s first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million.
2. July 2008: A lucky player from Co. Tipperary won a €15 million jackpot with a ticket bought in Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary.
3. June 2009: A family syndicate shared the jackpot with a British winner, taking homeover €29.4 million with a ticket they purchased in Dublin.
4. June 2013: A winning ticket sold in Beaumount, Dublin, shared a EuroMillions jackpot worth over €187 million. A Dublin player earned half of the jackpot and picked up over €93 million.
5. September 2013: A young man from the South East shared a jackpot of over €25 million with a player in Spain, taking home over €12.8 million.
6. April 2014: A jackpot prize worth €15 million was claimed on a ticket sold in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
7. September 2014: An €86.7 million jackpot was won by a syndicate from Dublin. The ticket was sold in Centra, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin.
8. January 2016: A syndicate of friends won over €66 million, splitting the jackpot of €132,376,632. The ticket was sold in Eason’s store, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow.
9. July 2016: 22 colleagues from Dublin Bus won the €23.8 million. The ticket was sold in O’Hanlon’s Portarlington.
10. January 2017: A Dublin work syndicate claimed the €88.5 million EuroMillions jackpot. The winning ticket was sold at the Applegreen Service Station on the M1 Northbound in Lusk, Co. Dublin.
11. July 2017: A syndicate from the West of Ireland won a €29 million EuroMillions jackpot. The ticket was sold in Garryduff XL Store on Pound Road, Castlebar in Co. Mayo.
12. December 2017: A small family syndicate from Dublin won €38.9 million on a ticket purchased in The Village Shop in Malahide Shopping Centre
13. June 2018: 32 colleagues from Stakelums Hardware store in Thurles Co. Tipperary share a €17 million EuroMillions jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Eason’s Store in Thurles Shopping Centre in Co. Tipperary.
14. February 2019: The Naul Family Syndicate won €175.4 million on a ticket sold in Reilly’s Daybreak in Naul, Co. Dublin.
15. February 2020: A Co. Mayo family shared the €17 million jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Mulroy’s Londis Store in Castlebar.
16. July 2020: An online player in Dublin won a €49.5 million jackpot which they won with a €2.50 normal play ticket.
17. February 2022: Mid-West ticket holder scoops €30.9 million jackpot with Quick Pick ticket they purchased at Larkin’s Gala Service Station in Ballina, Co. Tipperary.
It’s only the second time the €250million limit has been hit, with an Austrian player taking home the mega amount at the end of March.
And it’s the 18th time the EuroMillions jackpot has been won by an Irish ticket holder since it was launched back in 2004.
The €500,000 EuroMillions Plus jackpot was also won in Wexford last night.
The winning numbers for that draw were 11, 19, 30, 39 and 50.
Ten players also bagged €5,000 in the Ireland-only raffle draw.
The lucky numbers were I-SGZ-73597, I-SHH-52433, I-SHH-78201, I-SHJ-63567, I-SHK-24405, I-SHM-74478, I-SHN-58389, I-SHQ-05461, I-SHQ-95809 and I-SHR-22364.
