Galway woman claims €7 Million Lotto Jackpot with 25-year-old numbers

On Tuesday, November 19, one Galway woman got the surprise of her life after winning an astounding €7,028,440 jackpot prize as part of the National Lottery.

The ticket, which was purchased at Eurospar An Cheathrú Rua in Carraroe, carried a set of numbers that the winner has been playing for the past 25 years, a combination made up of birthdays. 

The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, recounted how she discovered the win. 

"I scanned my ticket on the National Lottery app, and the message popped up, 'You've won big.' I had no idea how big!" she shared. 

After contacting the National Lottery Prize Claims Team, the winner was introduced to Martin Monaghan, who guided her through verifying the ticket.

“Martin asked me if I was sitting down before delivering the news,” she said. 

“When he told me I’d won the €7 million jackpot, I was utterly shocked. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.” 

Interestingly, this isn’t her first win.

Over 20 years ago, she matched four numbers on the Lotto and won €27. "I never imagined those same numbers would bring me this incredible jackpot all these years later," she added. 

While still coming to terms with the win, the Galway woman is already making plans to share her good fortune.

 “I’m looking forward to helping others, starting with family and friends,” she revealed.  

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Also collecting a cheque was a Wexford man who secured a life-enhancing prize of €500,000 in the EuroMillions Plus draw on Friday, November 22. The player purchased his quick pick ticket on the day of the draw at Centra, Carnagh, Cushinstown, Co Wexford. 

The winning man laughed, “That Friday, I popped into the shop to pick up ice-cream and casually asked for a ticket for the draw, I didn’t really plan on buying one. Between my wife and I, we heard there was a win in Wexford that night, and it wasn’t until the following day when I scanned on the app, that I copped it was my ticket. It was a big shock to the system, I still don’t think I’m over it!”  

His wife added to the excitement of recalling his reaction “He couldn’t stop saying ‘It can’t be me’ over and over again, it was really comical”.  

The pair plan on booking a trip to Sydney, Australia, to visit family and enjoy a holiday of a lifetime together in the New Year.  

A Wexford woman also made her debut to Lottery HQ to claim her Telly Bingo Snowball prize of €55,000 from Tuesday, December 3. She purchased her winning ticket from Selskar Bookshop, Selskar Street, Co Wexford. 

She said, “It all happened so quickly, I was sitting watching it live on TV, while I was wrapping my Christmas presents, and I still had so many numbers left. Then all my numbers came up and it was just unbelievable. I think I had a delayed reaction, it took a while for it to register!” 

The winner has no immediate plans to celebrate her windfall but she’s looking forward to an extra special Christmas this year.  

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish Language.

In total, more than €6.5 billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 37 years ago.

In 2023 alone, €227.9 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.  

Play National Lottery games responsibly, play for fun.