Lucky Lotto-winning family collect €250,000

The very happy Donegal family, who wish to keep their win private, collected a cheque at Lottery Headquarters in Dublin on Tuesday November 1st after winning the top prize in the Lotto Plus draw on Saturday, October 22nd.

They bought their Quick Pick selection ticket at the Malin Cash Stores in Malin Town, Inishowen.

As the family celebrated the massive win, their mother revealed she only checked the ticket after her children became convinced they had won.

She said: “ Everybody has been talking about the big win in the area but I genuinely never thought it would be us. The kids were constantly on the phones and their computers and they would tell me that there is still no news on the winner coming forward. They were absolutely convinced that it was us. They pestered me to find the ticket and to check it,” she grinned.

“On Friday evening, to keep them quiet, I eventually gave in and found the ticket after searching the car. I handed it over to one of them to check it on the phone and a minute later, there was an almighty scream, ‘We’ve won, Mam - we’ve won!” It was one of those surreal moments in your life. We’re still coming to terms with it all, but we’re enjoying the experience,” she said.

On their plans for their new found fortune, the winning mother said: “It’s just a perfect amount of money for us all to win. We will pay off our debts in the coming weeks and then we will look at doing some work around the house. Christmas isn’t too far away either so there might be a treat or two for the children as well.”

There was no winner of the main Lotto jackpot on Saturday night. This Wednesday’s Lotto jackpot is an estimated €6 million. Play in store, on the National Lottery App or online by 7:45pm on Wednesday evening for your chance to win.

Playing National Lottery funds good causes across Ireland. To date the National Lottery has raised over €4.7 billion for good causes. This level of funding has made a significant difference to communities, projects and individuals in the areas of Youth, Sports, Recreation, Amenities, Health, Welfare, Arts, Culture, National Heritage and the Irish Language.