Sorry darling... I’ve now given away £60m
A LOTTERY winner who has given away more than half of her £115million fortune admits she is obsessed with helping people.
Frances Connolly, 55, has already busted the charity budget she agreed for this year with husband Paddy – and she has handed out what they would have donated up to 2032.
The former social worker and teacher said: “It gives you a buzz – I’m addicted to it now.”
Frances estimates she has donated £60million but does not keep a tally, joking she is worried in case Paddy, 57, saw the figure.
She has set up two charitable foundations, one named after her late mother Kathleen Graham in their native Northern Ireland and the other being the PFC Trust in Hartlepool, where the couple have lived for 30 years.
A fundraiser she organised on Saturday made £100,000 for the PFC Trust, which supports young carers, the elderly and refugees. In 2019, the Connollys won the EuroMillions jackpot and immediately gave cash to friends and family, using a list she prepared in advance because she always believed it would happen.
Frances has always helped others, volunteering for the St John Ambulance from the age of nine and setting up an Aids helpline as a student in Belfast.
The couple, who have three daughters – Katrina, 34, plus 26-year-old twins Fiona and Natalie – are not extravagant. Their biggest expenditure is a six-bedroom house in County Durham in seven acres of land.
Frances scoffs at the idea of crazy spending, saying: “Who needs all that money? I would have been a millionaire anyway if I took back all the money I’ve given away over the years.”
She added about her lottery success: “It’s still weird. But if you’re stupid before you get it, you’re going to be stupid afterwards. Money’s not going to make you sensible.”