'I had to puke' - Shopowner reveals reaction to selling €175m EuroMillions ticket in Naul
The owner of the shop that sold the winning Euromillions ticket said he literally got sick when he heard the news this morning.
The €175m golden ticket was sold in Reilly’s Daybreak in Naul, Co.Dublin.
The largest ever lotto jackpot in the history of the country is believed to have been won by a family syndicate.
Les Reilly said: "As a normal Wednesday morning, came to work without the papers and then the National Lottery contacted us and said 'you sold a winner'.
"I had to run down the back and puke, no word of a lie."
Reillys Daybreak has won a bonus of €25,000 for selling the winning ticket.
He joked that the shop has its own syndicate of 112 people and they were not the winners of the jackpot, he said, but they did win €38.
He said he was “stunned, delighted and very happy” and considered himself very lucky to have sold such a big winner.
“I just hope it is someone local, someone loyal to the shop.”
Mr Reilly explained that while 80% of his customers are local, they do have a lot of passing business given their proximity to the airport.
Today the shop is “buzzing, it’s happening, there’s a great atmosphere.”
When asked what advice he would give to the winners, he said he would give most of it away “or maybe buy an island,” he joked.
“We wish them the best of luck, we offer huge congratulations from Daybreak and from The Naul community. We wish them the best of health and happiness.”
It is business as usual in Daybreak this afternoon, he said. “We will welcome anyone who comes through the door.”
Earlier: Revealed: Winning EuroMillions ticket sold in Naul, Co Dublin
Last night's winning EuroMillions ticket was sold in North County Dublin.
The winner of the €175m jackpot bought the ticket in Reilly's Daybreak in Naul, a village near the Meath border.
It is still unclear if largest ever lotto jackpot winner in Ireland is a syndicate or single ticket holder.
Spokesperson for the National Lottery, Miriam Donoghue, says the shop also gets a big bonus of €25,000.
"We've heard this morning from the winner of the €175m EuroMillions jackpot, and we're also in a position to reveal the shop that sold this golden ticket, it's Reilly's Daybreak in Naul, North County Dublin," she said.
"The winning shop gets a bonus of €25,000, that's standard for any shop that sells a EuroMillions jackpot-winning ticket, so they have a lot to cheer about also."
A National Lottery spokesperson said: “This is fantastic news not only for the winner but for the lucky shop that sold the ticket. And we are delighted for Naul which is a small community. “
The spokesperson also confirmed that the lucky ticketholder has made contact with Lotto HQ and arrangements are being made to guide them through the prize claims process.
Update - 10.25am: Winner of €175m EuroMillions jackpot makes contact with National Lottery
The winner of last night's €175m EuroMillions jackpot has made contact with the National Lottery this morning.
A spokesperson said the ticket holder contacted Lotto HQ and will be guided through the prize claims process.
However, the spokesperson said they were not in a position to give any other details as yet.
They said that the National Lottery hopes to be able to give details on where the winning ticket was sold later today.
Miriam Donohoe told Today with Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 that the person who made contact was "surprisingly calm and very together".
She added the location of the shop that sold the ticket may be revealed in the coming hours.
National Lottery CEO, Dermot Griffin, said:"We are delighted the winner has made contact. This is an incredible win for an Irish EuroMillions player! And a record win for the National Lottery we are thrilled.
"This has been an incredibly lucky period for players on the island of Ireland. In January a Northern Ireland couple won an amazing €127 million in the EuroMillions jackpot. The luck of the Irish is definitely in the air."
Speculation has been rife on social media today that the ticket was sold in the east of the country.
TD for Meath East and Fianna Fail spokesperson on health Thomas Byrne tweeted earlier: "I'm absolutely delighted to hear that the Euro millions was won in the constituency. From what I'm hearing (and don't ask me!), it couldn't have happened to nicer people. Congratulations!"
Earlier: €175m EuroMillions winner advised to 'take their time and stay calm'
The chief executive of the National Lottery is advising the winner (or winners) of the €175m EuroMillions jackpot to sign the back of the ticket, sit back, take a deep breath and to take their time before making any decisions.
Dermot Griffin told RTE’s Morning Ireland that the National Lottery will not reveal the location of the retail outlet where the winning ticket was purchased for a few days.
The reason for this is to allow the winner “to go about their business” without media focus.
“It will take time for this to sink in. They need to take their time and stay calm.”
He said that the National Lottery can assist with advice and can outline the advantages and disadvantages of “going public”.
It will take a week for the €175m jackpot to be gathered from around Europe, he added.
Mr Griffin said it is always beneficial for winners to get professional advice on trusts and how best to cope with such a windfall. “We’ve been through this 14 times before.”
Irish winners always have favourite charities they want to support, along with family and friends. “Generations to come will be supported by a win like this.”
The winning numbers were 1, 8, 18, 19 and 39. The lucky stars were 7 and 9.
This is the 14th Irish EuroMillions win since the game was launched in Ireland in 2004.
- Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland’s first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million.
- A lucky player from Co. Tipperary won a €15 million jackpot with a ticket bought in Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary.
- A family syndicate shared the jackpot with a British winner, taking home over €29.4 million with a ticket they purchased in Dublin.
- A winning ticket sold in Beaumount, Dublin, shared a EuroMillions jackpot worth over €187 million. A Dublin player earned half of the jackpot and picked up over €93 million.
- A young man from the South East shared a jackpot of over €25 million with a player in Spain, taking home over €12.8 million.
- A jackpot prize worth €15 million was claimed on a ticket sold in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
- An €86.7 million jackpot was won by a syndicate from Dublin. The ticket was sold in Centra, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin.
- A syndicate of friends won over €66 million, splitting the jackpot of €132,376,632. The ticket was sold in Eason’s store, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow.
- 22 colleagues from Dublin Bus won the €23.8 million. The ticket was sold in O’Hanlon’s Portarlington.
- A Dublin work syndicate claimed the €88.5 million EuroMillions jackpot. The winning ticket was sold at the Applegreen Service Station on the M1 Northbound in Lusk, Co. Dublin.
- A syndicate from the West of Ireland won a €29 million EuroMillions jackpot. The ticket was sold in Garryduff XL Store on Pound Road, Castlebar in Co. Mayo.
- A small family syndicate from Dublin won €38.9 million on a ticket purchased in The Village Shop in Malahide Shopping Centre
- 32 colleagues from Stakelums Hardware store in Thurles Co. Tipperary share a €17 million EuroMillions jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Eason’s Store in Thurles Shopping Centre in Co. Tipperary.
- Single winner of EuroMillions. Location to be disclosed
