Cash Machine pays out €251,000 to Wicklow man who wins biggest radio giveaway ever

Irish Independent

06-05-2025

South Wicklow man Carl Bergin was one of thousands to enter the Go Loud network of stations' competition, which sees an amount announced each day before a lucky entrant receives a call they must answer within five rings, then reply with the exact amount in euro and cents.
Shortly before 4pm, after introducing the man making the high-stakes call, Irish radio legend Barry Dunne, Today FM presenter Dara Quilty said he was a 'bag of nerves' because the biggest ever cash prize in the history of Irish radio was about to be won, adding that he was sure Barry 'wouldn't have to make too many of these calls'.
With an entrant's number randomly selected, Barry started the call. The phone rang three agonising times before a softly spoken Carl answered and told the hosts that he works and lives in the Garden County.
'I'm so glad we got somebody who answered on the very first call because it's a guaranteed winner today, and it's a lot of money,' Barry said.
'We didn't want to disappoint anybody, and I'm sure we're not about to disappoint you.'
With Carl sounding remarkably relaxed on the other end of the line, Barry asked how he felt and who was with him, to which Carl said he had just arrived home after collecting his children from school and was 'as calm as a cucumber', despite admitting that he had never won 'anything remotely like this before'.
A silence descended before Barry asked the big question - how much do you think is in the Cash Machine? - to which an enthusiastic Carl replied: 'I think it's €251,000'.
After the studio had erupted in celebrations, Carl was asked what he was thinking of doing with the money and, in light of the massive win, if his plans for the bank holiday weekend would change.
'Myself and the wife were thinking about buying a house, so it will go a long way towards that,' he said.
'For the bank holiday weekend, I think a big barbecue is on the cards!'