Winning Syndicate Members Ecstatic as They Collect €17 Million Prize
Last Updated: Tuesday 19th June 2018, 11:25 am
A syndicate of 32 colleagues from Stakelum’s Hardware Store in Thurles, Co Tipperary, began celebrating in earnest as they collected their cheque for €17 million from lottery headquarters in Dublin on Friday. The group hit the headlines soon after they hit the EuroMillions jackpot on 5th June, arriving in Dublin nearly two weeks later to collect winnings worth €531,250 each.
“I didn’t get much sleep”
The syndicate had been playing the lottery for 20 years prior to the jackpot win, which was the first notable prize the group had won. Gerard Salmon is the syndicate’s leader and the man responsible for buying the lottery tickets. He said that he kept the winning ticket close by his bed after he realised how much it was worth. “It’s surreal because you don’t know what to feel. I didn’t get much sleep,” he added.
Celebrations of the win were delayed after it was found out that the father of one of the syndicate members died on the same night that the winning lottery numbers were drawn. Another member was on holiday when the news broke about the win, but Stakelums Store Manager Joe Connolly said that they would arrange for her to fly back to Ireland to celebrate with her colleagues.
The 32-strong group arrived at Irish lottery headquarters by bus on Friday, cheered on by lottery staff and greeted by the National Lottery’s CEO, Dermot Griffin. Tom O’Toole, the owner of the Eason store that sold the winning lottery ticket, also joined in the celebrations. Incredibly, it is the second jackpot-winning ticket that has been sold at the store in recent months, after a Lotto ticket worth €7.5 million was bought there in October last year. The store saw a 20 percent increase in scratchcard sales after news broke about the winning Lotto ticket, with players looking to cash in on the good luck.
€2 Million Winner Keeps Lucky Run Alive
June has been a great month so far for lottery players in Ireland and the lucky run continued as a ticket holder from the small fishing village of Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford won €2 million in the Lotto draw on Saturday. The news soon spread around the village, which has a population of 300 people, and the wait is now on to find out who the lucky winner is.
The winning numbers from the Lotto draw on Saturday 16th June were 6, 26, 27, 32, 45, and 47, with Bonus Ball 9. The winning ticket, which was bought at the Mace Burrows store in the village, matched all six numbers to take home the jackpot. It is the second top prize won in the Irish Lotto in a week, after a ticket holder in Co Cavan won €2.9 million in the draw on Wednesday 13th June.
John Brady, the owner of the Burrows store in Kilmore Quay, said: "The only thing that keeps this store going is our incredibly loyal local customers who keep the business ticking over all year round. Knowing that one of these people who we see on a daily basis is waking up with a Lotto ticket worth €2 million is just fantastic.”
The lucky ticket holder has 90 days from the date of the draw to claim their prize. See the Results page for more information about Saturday’s draw, including a full prize breakdown.
