Photo: Stock Image
A Louth Lotto player who scooped a life-changing €7,129,505 jackpot in the October 18 draw has collected their cheque at National Lottery headquarters.
The online player, who has chosen to remain anonymous, said the scale of the win only became clear following a late-night scroll on their phone, with the entire family soon caught up in the shock of the discovery.
“I was watching television with my husband and there wasn’t much happening during the programme, so I started scrolling through my phone,” the winner said. “That’s when I saw the email about a win. I checked my account and turned to my husband and said, ‘I think I’ve won the Lotto’.
“He didn’t believe me at all and didn’t even look away from the television. When he realised I wasn’t joking, we were both in total shock.”
The win was discovered around midnight, and the news quickly spread among family members.
“I even rang my mother to tell her, and I think the entire family was awake until about 3am in complete disbelief,” the winner said.
The Louth jackpot winner has already treated herself to a special first purchase and is now making plans for the future.
“The first thing I did was buy VIP tickets to see Westlife,” she said. “I’m counting down the days to that. My next dream is to buy a holiday home in Ireland. I still can’t believe this has happened, but I’m so excited to celebrate with my family.”
The National Lottery confirmed that the Louth win was the largest prize claimed during a recent round of celebrations at its headquarters, where several other winners from around the country also collected prizes.
Nearly 30 cent of every euro spent on National Lottery games goes towards Good Causes in areas including sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage and the Irish language. Since its establishment 37 years ago, more than €6.5 billion has been raised for Good Causes, with €239.3 million generated in 2024 alone.