Discovery a clean sweep for newest millionaire

A LUCKY woman has become Ireland’s latest millionaire after discovering a forgotten ticket in her house.

She was giving her home a post-christmas clean when she came across it.

The Dubliner, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought the Euromilllions ticket on October 27 while she was on a weekend break in Carrick-onshannon, Co Leitrim.

But she didn’t realise that her numbers came up trumps and earned her €1million in the Ireland Only Raffle the same day.

Collecting her prize from National Lottery HQ, the woman spoke of her disbelief at the win and thanked her incredible luck at finding the ticket two months after the draw.

She said: “I always buy a Lotto or Euromillions ticket when I’m down the country.

“But I just completely forgot to check it. It was only when I was cleaning up after Christmas that I came across

this ticket and I scanned it on the National Lottery phone app.

“All of a sudden, a message popped up on my phone that I had to contact the National Lottery to discuss the ticket.”

However, the woman revealed she wasn’t initially aware of the staggering sum she’d landed, believing she had won just €5,000.

She said: “Straight away, I was told that I was one of the 10 winners of the €5,000 raffle prize and I was absolutely ecstatic to be starting the New Year with €5,000 in my back pocket.

“The National Lottery official on the other end of the line asked me if I was sitting down, as they proceeded to tell me that I had won €1million.

“Honestly, it doesn’t feel real and I officially won’t believe it until the cheque clears in my bank account.

“It’s a lot to take in so I’m going to take some time out to consider my options.

‘I’m going to have a little peek at some houses and maybe even a car upgrade as soon as I see all those zeros.”