{"id":412829,"date":"2026-04-23T03:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412829\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T03:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:30:17","slug":"irish-euromillions-winner-became-countrys-58th-richest-person-but-paid-chilling-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412829\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish EuroMillions winner became country’s 58th richest person but paid chilling price"},"content":{"rendered":"

Irish EuroMillions winner Dolores McNamara scooped a life-changing \u20ac115 million jackpot but the sudden wealth came with a dark side that resulted in family members needing panic buttons installed<\/p>\n

15:34, 21 Apr 2026Updated 08:43, 22 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

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Dolores McNamara celebrates her win(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Winning the lottery<\/a> represents a fantasy for countless people, but previous jackpot winners have been revealing the surprising drawbacks online. A recent discussion gained traction on Reddit following a user’s question: “Lottery winners what is the dark side of sudden wealth that nobody warns you about?”<\/p>\n

Offering an honest response, one individual wrote: “A lot of people don’t warn you that sudden money can ruin relationships, friends and family start treating you differently and not always in a good way. It also puts insane pressure on you to manage it perfectly and the stress can hit harder than the thrill of winning.”<\/p>\n

Another contributor noted: “A lot of winners say the biggest mistake was not staying quiet early on, which is why understanding how lottery winners can remain anonymous after a win and what that process looks like matters more than people realize. The money can fix problems, but the attention can create brand-new ones if you don’t protect yourself early.”<\/p>\n

This observation may have resonated with Dolores McNamara, who scooped an enormous \u20ac115million on the EuroMillions <\/a>two decades ago. The windfall made her Ireland’s 58th wealthiest individual at that time. She learnt of her fortune while in her local pub \u2014 resulting in news spreading remarkably quickly before she could gain any control over matters.<\/p>\n

\"Dolores<\/p>\n

Dolores McNamara leaves the Irish National Lottery Headquarters in Dublin(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Mother-of-six Dolores previously worked as a part-time cleaner. Instead of discovering her win privately at home, she was at the Track Bar in Limerick<\/a> when she asked a pal: “Check that for me.” The winning ticket cost just \u20ac2, and the EuroMillions draw was unfolding on television.<\/p>\n

Before long, an emotional Dolores found herself in tears, with a barmaid present recalling: “Then the drink started flowing and the champagne was poured and we had a great night celebrating. Dolores is a real nice woman and none of her friends believe this will change her drastically.”<\/p>\n

News of the win quickly spread nationwide, prompting her solicitor to issue a statement declaring: “She is absolutely determined that her feet and the feet of her family will remain firmly on the ground.”<\/p>\n

Predictably, maintaining normality proved challenging, with one of her most lavish acquisitions being Lough Derg Hall, a spectacular \u20ac1.75m estate in Killaloe, County Clare. The property, complete with stunning vistas, had reportedly once caught the eye of Robert De Niro.<\/p>\n

\"Dolores<\/p>\n

Life was never the same again (Image: Press Association)<\/p>\n

She also purchased homes for her six children throughout the Limerick region, though such extraordinary wealth brought sinister complications.<\/p>\n

These included round-the-clock security at her residence following kidnapping threats. Panic buttons were reportedly fitted in her children’s properties as a precaution against potential danger.<\/p>\n

In 2005, one of her sons was forced to abandon his home after authorities told him he was the target of a planned abduction by an infamous gang.<\/p>\n

Dolores faced her own difficulties in 2015 following a road collision, which ultimately resulted in her receiving a settlement of \u20ac8,500 several years afterwards. More recently, tragedy struck when her husband Adrian passed away in 2021.<\/p>\n

\"Dolores<\/p>\n

Dolores McNamara is congratulated by Lottery Director Ray Bates on her record breaking lotter win (Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Adrian, who was only in his 60s, was a former bricklayer who had invested in his own racecourse. He died following a brief illness.<\/p>\n

Now in her mid-60s, Dolores prefers to maintain a low profile and keep her life private.<\/p>\n

Her only interview came with the Limerick Leader, where the grandmother-of-nine said: “The question that has been asked of me most frequently was how I felt about my win and my answer is still the same – I feel disbelief and shock.<\/p>\n

“Buying a ticket for that Euro jackpot was a spur of the moment decision. I’d actually gone into the shop to buy a top-up for my phone and just asked the lady for a Lotto ticket.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Irish EuroMillions winner Dolores McNamara scooped a life-changing \u20ac115 million jackpot but the sudden wealth came with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,49232,61,60,9077],"class_list":{"0":"post-412829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-euromillions","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-national-lottery"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}