‘Have a cup of tea... let it sink in' – Irish ticket holder lands €250m Euromillions jackpot, and it's a shop-bought ticket

Irish Independent

5 hours ago

The record-breaking win surpasses the €175m record for the largest cheque ever presented to an Irish player in February 2019.
The winning numbers were: 13, 22, 23, 44 ,49 and the Lucky Stars were 3 and 5.
It has not yet been confirmed where the winning ticket was sold, but the National Lottery has urged the winner 'to stay calm, get independent legal and financial advice and contact us as soon as they can'.
The lucky ticketholder is Ireland's 18th winner of the EuroMillions in Ireland. Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland's first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million in July 2005.
The jackpot is capped once it reaches €250 million.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, National Lottery spokesperson Emma Monaghan said the holder of the winning ticket is still yet to come forward.
Ms Monaghan confirmed the winning ticket was purchased in a retail store somewhere in Ireland and said more information on the location where it was bought will be released in the coming days.
'So, shortly after the draw last night, a small number of people internally got word that it was an Irish winner, so it was all hands-on deck last night,' she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
'But we're delighted with it. We're delighted for the winner. I mean, it's just such great news for our players and they've now become the highest ever winner of an Irish National Lottery game. So, that is some title to hold.'
She said the National Lottery's prize claims team opens from 9am this morning and as of yet, the lucky winner is yet to make contact.
'At the moment we're just urging everyone to check their tickets very carefully this morning. If they are holding the winning ticket, the most important thing they can do is to sign the back of it and keep it somewhere safe. And the next step then is to contact our prize team.
'I don't know who has won it, but somebody out there is holding the winning ticket. In terms of location, what I can tell you is that the winning ticket was bought in a retail store somewhere in Ireland.'
It is also unclear if the winning ticket was bought by an individual or a syndicate.
Ms Monaghan urged the winner of the 'eye-watering prize' to remain calm and 'have a cup of tea and just let it sink in'.
"We are absolutely thrilled to see this incredible and record win for an Irish EuroMillions player,' said National Lottery CEO Cian Murphy.
"We are advising our players to check their tickets and if they are the winner, sign the back of the ticket, keep it safe, and contact National Lottery HQ and we will guide you through the claims process.
"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.
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"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."
In total, over 92,200 players in Ireland one prizes in the EuroMillions and Plus games last night.
One player in Wexford also won €500,000 in the Plus draw last night, while there were 10 winners of the raffle prize, which landed the players €5,000 each.