Corkonians left dreaming after EuroMillions jackpot win
They say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy fighter jets and football teams, which featured among a long wish list of items coveted by Cork's EuroMillions fans.
However, while some shoppers on St Patrick's St in the city were understandably disappointed about losing out on the €250m jackpot, others described it as a curse they could do without.
The public was reacting to news of Tuesday night's winning ticket which was purchased in a shop in Munster. The exact location along with the owner's identity remains unknown.
Goncalo Morais, who works in Herlihy's Centra on St Patrick's St, had bought a ticket but sadly missed out. This hasn't stopped him dreaming about future wins, as he contemplated the ultimate €250m splurge.
'I would buy my local club Benfica from back home in Portugal and fire the chairman because he's not good enough,' he told the Irish Examiner. 'It would probably cost that much to buy the club but it would be for the love of the game.'
Denis Murphy from Fairhill in Cork was not as keen.
'That kind of money couldn't bring anything but bad luck,' he said. 'I wouldn't keep it. I would give it away. I might buy a few fighter jets, because the way the world is going we definitely need them. Our Government doesn't want to invest in that stuff so if I won that kind of money, I think that's what I would do.
'I would give it to the air force and give it to the navy so they can have what they need in today's environment and not have to rely on Britain to protect them.'
Sophie Condon from Glenville had other plans: 'I am getting on a flight out of here straight away. I'd move the whole family to Dubai. I'd buy mansions for my family and my friends can have mansions too. I'll have to pass my driving test first but then I'm definitely getting a new car.'
Laura O'Dwyer from Kanturk shared her EuroMillions ambitions: 'I'd start with buying a house in Cork City and a holiday home abroad. I'd also buy a designer bag and a yacht.'
Laura O'Dwyer had her eyes set on a house, yacht, and designer bag if she had the winning ticket. Picture: Larry Cummins
Luke O'Brien from Waterford spoke about how a win of that scale might benefit his friends: 'I would buy a trip around the world and come back and buy a house and a load of golf clubs. For €250m, I could buy cars for the whole family and take all my friends on a big trip with me too.'
Caitlin Heffernan from Mallow dreamt about how her life might play out after a EuroMillions win.
'I would buy a cute little cottage in West Cork and do it up,' she said. 'I would travel the world for a year or two and maybe buy a farm.'
John O'Kelly from Mayfield said he feels that €250m is too much money.
'I don't know what I would do with it because it's too much. I'm too set in my ways at this stage,' he said. 'It would totally change everything for me. I think I would pay off the mortgages of my family but that's about it.'
Ger Slyne from Innishannon has it all planned out: 'I would buy Cork City. I'd buy Páirc Uí Chaoimh back from the GAA, put Cork City in there like they were in the 70s and we'd get the crowds flocking back there again.'
Ger Slyne would buy Cork City and Páirc Uí Chaoimh while John O'Kelly says the lottery win is just too much money to handle. Picture: Larry Cummins
Lastly, Teresa O'Neill from Cork, who now lives in the US, said she would donate a sum to charity.
'I'm very interested in Catholic charities so if I was going to donate that's who I would donate to,' she concluded.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dublin Live
3 hours ago
- Dublin Live
National Lottery confirms location of €250m EuroMillions winning ticket
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The National Lottery has revealed where the record-breaking EuroMillions ticket was bought. Last night's draw saw a lucky punter scoop up a staggering €250million. The winning ticket was bought in-store in the Munster region. The historic win set the record for the largest prize ever claimed in the country. The previous record stood at €175 million, won in February 2019, with a ticket sold at Reilly's Daybreak in The Naul, Co Dublin. The numbers for last night's EuroMillions draw were: 13, 22, 23, 44, 49 , and the two Lucky Stars were 3 and 5 . If you believe you are the winner, you are encouraged to sign the back of your ticket and contact the National Lottery immediately at 1800 666 222 or email claims@ Additionally, a EuroMillions Plus winner in Co Wicklow won a tidy prize of €500,000. The Plus player purchased their Quick Pick ticket on the day of the draw, from Selskar Bookshop, Townparks, Co Wexford. The numbers for last night's EuroMillions Plus draw were: 11, 19, 30, 39 and 50 . Emma Monaghan, spokesperson for the National Lottery, said: 'What a night for our EuroMillions players. Not only did we see 92,000 players in Ireland win prizes, including our top prize in EuroMillions Plus, but we also saw the historic jackpot being won by an Irish player. "We are continuing to advise all EuroMillions players in the Munster region to check their tickets very carefully to see if they have landed this mega windfall. We're looking forward to sharing more details about the win in the coming days.' Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage .
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Corkonians left dreaming after EuroMillions jackpot win
They say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy fighter jets and football teams, which featured among a long wish list of items coveted by Cork's EuroMillions fans. However, while some shoppers on St Patrick's St in the city were understandably disappointed about losing out on the €250m jackpot, others described it as a curse they could do without. The public was reacting to news of Tuesday night's winning ticket which was purchased in a shop in Munster. The exact location along with the owner's identity remains unknown. Goncalo Morais, who works in Herlihy's Centra on St Patrick's St, had bought a ticket but sadly missed out. This hasn't stopped him dreaming about future wins, as he contemplated the ultimate €250m splurge. 'I would buy my local club Benfica from back home in Portugal and fire the chairman because he's not good enough,' he told the Irish Examiner. 'It would probably cost that much to buy the club but it would be for the love of the game.' Denis Murphy from Fairhill in Cork was not as keen. 'That kind of money couldn't bring anything but bad luck,' he said. 'I wouldn't keep it. I would give it away. I might buy a few fighter jets, because the way the world is going we definitely need them. Our Government doesn't want to invest in that stuff so if I won that kind of money, I think that's what I would do. 'I would give it to the air force and give it to the navy so they can have what they need in today's environment and not have to rely on Britain to protect them.' Sophie Condon from Glenville had other plans: 'I am getting on a flight out of here straight away. I'd move the whole family to Dubai. I'd buy mansions for my family and my friends can have mansions too. I'll have to pass my driving test first but then I'm definitely getting a new car.' Laura O'Dwyer from Kanturk shared her EuroMillions ambitions: 'I'd start with buying a house in Cork City and a holiday home abroad. I'd also buy a designer bag and a yacht.' Laura O'Dwyer had her eyes set on a house, yacht, and designer bag if she had the winning ticket. Picture: Larry Cummins Luke O'Brien from Waterford spoke about how a win of that scale might benefit his friends: 'I would buy a trip around the world and come back and buy a house and a load of golf clubs. For €250m, I could buy cars for the whole family and take all my friends on a big trip with me too.' Caitlin Heffernan from Mallow dreamt about how her life might play out after a EuroMillions win. 'I would buy a cute little cottage in West Cork and do it up,' she said. 'I would travel the world for a year or two and maybe buy a farm.' John O'Kelly from Mayfield said he feels that €250m is too much money. 'I don't know what I would do with it because it's too much. I'm too set in my ways at this stage,' he said. 'It would totally change everything for me. I think I would pay off the mortgages of my family but that's about it.' Ger Slyne from Innishannon has it all planned out: 'I would buy Cork City. I'd buy Páirc Uí Chaoimh back from the GAA, put Cork City in there like they were in the 70s and we'd get the crowds flocking back there again.' Ger Slyne would buy Cork City and Páirc Uí Chaoimh while John O'Kelly says the lottery win is just too much money to handle. Picture: Larry Cummins Lastly, Teresa O'Neill from Cork, who now lives in the US, said she would donate a sum to charity. 'I'm very interested in Catholic charities so if I was going to donate that's who I would donate to,' she concluded.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Dolores McNamara: Whatever happened to the €115m lotto winner?
When the then 45-year-old Dolores McNamara arrived at the National Lottery HQ on Dublin's Abbey St in early August 2005 she was like a rabbit in the headlights. Increasingly impatient and bored journalists had been standing outside the building for three days waiting for the person who had just scooped the then largest ever EuroMillions jackpot of €115 million, and they scrambled to catch her eye. While the Limerick woman, who had previously had a part-time job as a cleaner, was willing to pose for pictures on her big day out, she did not answer any questions. Instead, she left that to her solicitor. READ MORE He told reporters that his client, who had moved in a heartbeat from being of very modest means to being one of the country's richest people, was adamant she and her family would keep their feet 'firmly on the ground'. He also said she was hoping for a 'sense of closure' after all the attention her enormous win had attracted died down. It was wishful thinking. Over the last 20 years the media and the country has retained an endless fascination with the reclusive Ms McNamara. Every misstep and news morsel has been devoured by a public who have an endless fascination with those who win life-changing sums of money. The unwanted attention started even before Ms McNamara picked up her novelty cheque – a blurry picture taken of her celebrating her win in Garryowen's Track pub sold by a local to two newspapers for a reported €17,000. Ms McNamara, in the first instance, did what most people would do and bought an expansive home: Lough Derg Hall on 38 acres outside the village of Killaloe, Co Clare. It cost her €1.7 million. She also bought her six children homes in the area and some seven years after her win, spent more than €3 million on Tinarana House, a 19th-century Victorian mansion on 244 acres overlooking Lough Derg that was previously owned by former Co Clare GP Paschal Carmody. Along with the property investments, she also had to invest heavily in round-the-clock security for herself, her husband and all their children as they had to contend with multiple kidnap threats. At one point more than 10 years ago, one of her children was forced to leave his Limerick home after gardaí passed information to him that a local gang might be planning to abduct and hold him for ransom. An Post was forced to deny in the weeks after Ms McNamara's win became public that it had deployed an extra van to deal with the volume of begging letters that came her way. But it is beyond doubt that she had to deal with a huge volume coming from across Europe. The family also made a widely publicised and perhaps unwise investment in homes in the run-down US city of Detroit, Michigan, spending about €5 million on more than 100 homes between 2012 and 2014. They appear to have suffered heavy losses on their investment, with many of the homes subsequently listed for forfeiture to Wayne County treasury authorities. . The Irish Times reported that the McNamaras had paid an average of about $50,000 for each house, with a large number put up for sale years later with an average asking price of $17,000.
