Could it be you?
Lottery couple win £115m then write secret list of 50 friends to make VERY rich
MOST couples who win a lottery jackpot celebrate in style as they plan a spending spree on supercars, jewellery and luxury mansions.
But when Frances and Patrick Connolly scooped £115million, they made do with a hug and a cuppa.
They they calmly drew up a list of friends, relatives and good causes who will share in their new-found wealth.
Mr Connolly, 54, and his wife, 52, say only a few of the intended recipients have been told of their imminent good fortune. Some will be given £1million or more.
The couple from Moira in Northern Ireland, who have three children and three grandchildren, became the UK’s fourth-biggest lottery winners when they landed the New Year’s Day EuroMillions jackpot.
‘This is a massive sum of money and we want it to have a huge impact on the lives of other people we know and love as well as on our future too,’ Mrs Connolly, a teacher, said yesterday. ‘If we end up with half of it we’ll be doing well.’
Spraying champagne and waving a giant cheque at a press conference at a hotel, they revealed how they instantly joined the super-rich. Mr Connolly said that despite them having ‘ never won more than a tenner’ before, his wife had ‘ nagged’ him to buy a lucky dip ticket on Tuesday.
After checking the results on his laptop just before bedtime at their rented terraced house, the chemical engineer – who had won £2.60 the week before – turned coolly to his wife and said: ‘I think I’ve got some good news for you.’
She swore at him, she revealed, adding: ‘ We then sat in silence, stared at each other for ten minutes and stayed up all night.’
At 1am Mr Connolly received an email from the National Lottery to confirm he had won the jackpot but it only became ‘real’ at 8am when they could telephone organisers Camelot.
‘We celebrated with a hug and a cup of tea – then wrote a list of 50 friends and family we would share it with,’ Mrs Connolly said. ‘There will be more added to the list, no doubt. The joy for us will be when we tell them all face-to-face.’
She said she wants to buy a bungalow rather than a mansion, because she struggles to walk up stairs. But she will splash out on a new Jaguar X-Type and a holiday in Mauritius.
Mrs Connolly joked that the couple would not put any of the money towards personal security, quipping: ‘I’ve never met anybody I couldn’t take down myself, to be fair.’ Mr Connolly said he wants to buy an Alfa Romeo and shower his wife with gifts but added: ‘We are quite level-headed people, we are not overly extravagant – yet. I’ve got a wonderful wife, a wonderful family and wonderful friends, so this is the icing on the cake.’
He is the son of a postman, while his wife’s father was a joiner. The couple both studied at Queen’s University Belfast but met later at a mutual friend’s wedding.
In 1990 they moved to Hartlepool, County Durham, where they brought up twins Fiona and Natalie, 24, and Katrina, 31, who is Mr Connolly’s stepdaughter. Mr Connolly worked at a plastics company while Mrs Connolly taught at a young offender institution.
In 2014, they moved back to Northern Ireland. They were planning to relocate to Croydon, where Mr Connolly had been offered a job, but he now intends to retire. Mrs Connolly said she will continue her plan to do a PhD in clinical psychology, adding: ‘There’s no way I’m joining the jet set.’
Last night, their daughter Katrina, who still lives in Hartlepool, said of the lottery win: ‘Dad will have to be careful or Mum will give it all away!
‘They’ve always been really generous. I’ve got an idea of who they are going to help but they’ve not said anything specific.
‘Mum rang to tell me yesterday morning but I didn’t believe it until I saw the picture of them with a cheque.’
Among those set to benefit is community football club Hartlepool St Francis FC, where Mrs Connolly was once club secretary.
Her successor Trevor Robinson said: ‘It feels like we’ve won the lottery too. It’s mad.’