IRELAND’s luckiest shop has sold a €10,000 Telly Bingo prize – one week after a selling a Lotto jacketpot ticket worth over €5.4 million.
Carey’s in Belmullet, Co Mayo, has sold SEVEN winning Lotto tickets worth over €22 million since 1991, including a €13.8 million jackpot ticket in 2016.
4
The syndicate which scooped the megabucks prize on December 28 today popped the bubbly in Lotto headquarters as they arrived to claim their cheque worth a massive €5,419,866.
But as they celebrated their huge fortune, shop owner Lorraine O’Connor-Carey revealed that they just can’t stop winning.
She told the Irish Sun: “Almost a week after getting the news that we sold the winning jackpot ticket, things were beginning to simmer down—until we heard that we sold another Telly Bingo prize of €10,000.
“I couldn’t believe it, the shop has been buzzing with excitement ever since.
“We’re delighted to hear that a syndicate from Mayo has claimed the jackpot prize.
“Whatever their plans are to celebrate, all of us here at Carey’s wish them the very best!”
The National Lottery have kept details of the syndicate, such as the number of players and if they are family, friends, or colleagues, a closely guarded secret and Lorraine has remained tight-lipped on whether the shop or locals know who the lucky winners are.
Speaking on behalf of the syndicate, one member revealed: “We were all together on the night of the draw having a Christmas get together, when we discovered we had won.
“As you can imagine, there was great excitement on the night, and it has still yet to sink in.”
Asked about where the ticket has been kept while waiting to claim their prize, one member said: “The ticket has been kept in a magazine, in an envelope under a mattress – there was no way that ticket was going missing!”
They are the latest lucky Lotto winners to have purchased their tickets in Carey’s, which is now officially Ireland’s luckiest shop.
In 1991 they sold their first jackpot ticket worth €710,422.
In 2012 they sold a Lotto Plus One top prize of €350,000 and in 2015 they sold a EuroMillions Plus top prize of €500,000.
The following year they had their biggest ever win when they sold a €13.8 million jackpot ticket.
In 2017 they had a Daily Million top prize of €1 million and one customer also scooped €370,312 when they matched five numbers and the bonus, before they had their latest huge win last week when a syndicate won over €5.4 million, becoming the 11th National Lottery jackpot winner of 2024.
Irish EuroMillions jackpot winners
HERE’s all the Irish EuroMillions jackpot winners to date.
1. July 2005: Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland’s first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million.
2. July 2008: A lucky player from Co. Tipperary won a €15 million jackpot with a ticket bought in Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary.
3. June 2009: A family syndicate shared the jackpot with a British winner, taking home over €29.4 million with a ticket they purchased in Dublin.
4. June 2013: 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.
5. September 2013: 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.
6. April 2014: A jackpot prize worth €15 million was claimed on a ticket sold in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
7. September 2014: An €86.7 million jackpot was won by a syndicate from Dublin. The ticket was sold in Centra, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin.
8. January 2016: 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.
9. July 2016: 22 colleagues from Dublin Bus won the €23.8 million. The ticket was sold in O’Hanlon’s Portarlington.
10. January 2017: 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.
11. July 2017: 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.
12. December 2017: A small family syndicate from Dublin won €38.9 million on a ticket purchased in The Village Shop in Malahide Shopping Centre
13. June 2018: 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.
14. February 2019: The Naul Family Syndicate won €175.4 million on a ticket sold in Reilly’s Daybreak in Naul, Co. Dublin.
15. February 2020: A Co. Mayo family shared the €17 million jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Mulroy’s Londis Store in Castlebar.
16. July 2020: An online player in Dublin won a €49.5 million jackpot which they won with a €2.50 normal play ticket.
17. February 2022: Mid-West ticket holder scoops €30.9 million jackpot with Quick Pick ticket they purchased at Larkin’s Gala Service Station in Ballina, Co. Tipperary.
Lorraine said: “Our shop has been a cornerstone in Belmullet for over 40 years, and it’s safe to say, we’ve had our fair share of National Lottery wins and are well-known for our successes.
“We were due a big win, so I wasn’t entirely shocked when I got the call.
“We have many regular local customers, so it’s exciting to think that one of them might have had a life-changing win.
‘AMAZING NEWS’
“We hope they’re already enjoying their amazing news, and what an incredible way to kick-start the new year.”
Meanwhile, a couple from Meath who won €500,000 on the January 3 EuroMillions Plus draw with a Quick Pick ticket claimed their prizes today.
A Dublin man who won a top prize of €200,000 on an All Cash Spectacular scratch card purchased also picked up his winnings.
4
4