The winning ticket, from the December 12 draw, was sold on the day of the draw in Lidl on the Athlone Road in Creighan, just outside Cavan town.
One member of the family syndicate described the chaos of contacting all the syndicate members after learning of the win.
“I was trying to call each of the syndicate members over and over,” they said.
“I’d say everyone had at least four missed calls from me, and it was probably a few hours before anyone returned my call.
“Imagine sitting with a ticket worth €17 million and I can’t get anyone on the phone. When I finally got a call back to deliver the news, they just kept asking was I sure.”
With such an important ticket in their possession, they made sure to take a safety precaution in the midst of the celebrations.
“The thoughts of having a ticket worth this much in the house was just too much, so the local bank put it in their safe. This all still feels very surreal so I think it will take a while to fully believe what’s just happened,” they added.
When asked about their plans on how to spend the money, they said: “We have a few things in mind! We’re hoping to buy homes for our close family members, and we’re looking forward to house hunting for a holiday home in France so we can enjoy holidays together.”
The family syndicate has become the 19th Irish EuroMillions jackpot winner.
Also celebrating a win before Christmas was a Louth man who scooped €25,287 during the Saturday, December 20 Lotto draw with a Match 5 + Bonus prize.
His winning ticket was purchased at Londis Top Shop in Ravensdale, Dundalk.
“I usually watch the draw live, and this was the one week I didn’t,” he said.
“When I checked my ticket, I tried calling the entire family and no one answered. So, I posted a message in our family WhatsApp group asking if anyone saw the Lotto and included a photo of my ticket with the results.
“The replies came flooding in once they saw that.”
Stock image
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Tuesday, December 23
The winner plans to book a holiday in the New Year to celebrate.
The next EuroMillions draw will take place at 8.30pm today, with an estimated prize of €40 million.
The National Lottery’s Millionaire’s Raffle is set to run on New Year’s Eve with top prizes of €1 million, six prizes of €100,000, 15 prizes of €10,000, 45 prizes of €5,000, 302 prizes of €1,000 and 8,131 prizes of €500.
National Lottery spokesperson, Emma Monaghan, said: “We remind all of our players to support our Gift Responsibly campaign and remember when you are purchasing any National Lottery product as a gift, whether at Christmas or any time of the year, it is always important to gift responsibly. National Lottery products are strictly for those who are aged 18 years and over.”
Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage and the Irish Language.
In 2024, €239.3 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.