Dreams come true in Galway as street cleaners pocket €5million Lotto jackpot

Dreams have come true for Galway City Council street cleaners as they pocket a €5million Lotto jackpot. 

The ten-man syndicate collected the €5,541,001 prize in Lottery HQ yesterday afternoon (Wednesday August 17) almost twenty five years after buying their first tickets together. 

One syndicate member spoke of how they had to keep the belief going after so many years. 

He said, "The lads thought about changing the numbers at one stage, but decided against making any changes. Just last Christmas, one member mentioned that he was going to leave the syndicate, but he was persuaded to stay on and was told it was only the price of a pint and a newspaper.

"Luckily, he stayed as the syndicate winning numbers appeared on the August 3rd Lottery draw." 

They are Ireland's 7th Lotto Jackpot winners of the year, with the winning ticket sold in Newspoint newsagent, Unit 25, Galway Shopping Centre, on the Headford Road on Sunday July 31. 

Another syndicate member said: "Someone said that we ‘cleaned-up’ and we did, but us lads clean up every day by ensuring the streets and parks in Galway city are spotless. We’re proud of our city." 

Meanwhile, a winner from Kildare collected their top prize of €500,000 from the EuroMillions Plus draw, which they won on Tuesday August 9. 

The winner - who wishes to remain private - spoke of the moment they realised they won.

They said, "It was my mam’s birthday so I bought her a EuroMillions plus ticket and then thought I’d by one for myself too while I’m at it. I checked the numbers coming up and couldn’t believe it. It ended up being my ticket that won!! My mam said it made her birthday even better knowing I’d won. I’m hoping to purchase my first home so this couldn’t have come at a better time." 

The winning Quick Pick ticket was sold on August 6 at the News 4 U store in Glenroyal Shopping Centre, Maynooth, Co Kildare. 

As there was no winner of Tuesday's (August 16) EuroMillions Jackpot, Friday’s jackpot is set to roll to an estimated €75 Million. 

Image: Staff and families celebrate at Newspoint Newsagent at Galway Shopping Centre. Pic: Iain McDonald / Mac Innes Photography