She bought the ticket – he lost it
16:06, 04 Feb 2026Updated 16:10, 04 Feb 2026
National Lottery HQ in Dublin(Image: Collins)
A Kerry couple are looking forward to the holiday of a lifetime after winning half a million from Lotto numbers bought in a much-loved Cork city shop. But they nearly missed out on the prize altogether after losing their ticket just hours after finding out they won.
The lucky ticket was purchased at Con’s Shop on the Northside – previously run by legendary shopkeeper Con O’Leary before his passing in 2024 – on the day of the EuroMillions Plus draw on 27th January. The €500k prize was claimed by a Kerry woman at the National Lottery HQ in Dublin this week, who said she purchased her numbers on a whim while visiting family in Cork. Later that evening, she scanned the ticket on her app and saw a big message that read: “You’ve won big, contact the National Lottery.”
She said: “Surprisingly, I was very calm, although at first I had no idea what I’d won, so there was a bit of scrolling and scrambling through the draw results to figure it out!” The National Lottery always advises that winners put their tickets somewhere safe to make sure there’s no stress about losing them. And this Kerry woman’s partner took things one step further – by hiding it so well that even he couldn’t find it.
That same night, he had to “pull the cupboard apart” until it finally turned up – and he admitted the last thing he wanted to do was tell his partner it went missing at all. Only once the ticket was safe and sound, he came clean about the near-miss and the pair picked a new hiding spot together – their sock drawer. It was a solid choice, but far from the strangest we’ve seen over the years. Our personal favourite has to the Limerick couple who buried their Lotto ticket in the garden after finding out they’d won €5.5m.
The Kerry woman revealed they’re eyeing up a big holiday overseas after their latest windfall. She said: “We’re heading to Asia to do some travelling. It’s been on our bucket list for so long, so we can’t wait to finally book it!”
This is the second big Lotto prize won from a Cork ticket in recent days. Last week, a Cork woman claimed €100k Lotto prize and revealed she also wants to use her winnings to book the holiday of a lifetime.
Meanwhile, another Dublin man also claimed a €500k this week off the same EuroMillions Plus draw on 27th January. He admitted he missed the email sent about the win, and only found out after checking the app. He said: “I got up earlier than usual that particular Wednesday morning and after ignoring the email the night before about my win, I decided to log in to the app and check what I had won. I never expected to see €500,000 in the little green box! I was the only one in the house up at 6am, well it was myself and the dog.
“He was next to me looking for a treat and there I was trying to tell him about my big win. I ran upstairs immediately to wake my wife and tell her. She definitely didn’t mind being woken up with that news! I showed her the ticket and the two of us were slightly unsure of what to do next – it’s not every day that you start your morning being €500,000 better off!”
He and his wife are letting the win sink in before making a final call on what to do with the money – but are already looking into going on a cruise trip together.
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