Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE RICH LIST
50 lucky family and friends to benefit after couple scoop huge New Year windfall
EUROMILLIONS winners Frances and Patrick Connolly will start handing out cash to 50 lucky friends and family today.
The Co Down couple promised “we are going to make some more people millionaires”, as they were revealed as the winners of the £114.9million jackpot.
The pair said they have “no intentions of keeping all that money”.
They were hoping to get a bungalow due to some mobility problems Frances suffers from but now “might get a bigger one”.
Patrick, who works in manufacturing, is a Formula One fan and likes Alfa Romeos so might splash out on a new model, while Frances fancies a Jaguar X-type.
The couple had been planning a move to Croydon in South London for work but Patrick said that’s “out the window now” with Frances joking, “Oh I’m definitely retiring”.
They added: “We want to have a holiday, but we need the space and time to think about it. Sincerely, though, as soon as we finish here we are going to be spending money.”
Asked why they decided to go public they said they “thought long and hard about it”, but added “how do you not tell people?”
Frances said: “There’s too many people we’re giving money to, so how to explain to people why you’re giving all this money away? But we’re glad we did. Everybody’s been lovely.”
Describing the win as “beyond our imagination”, Frances revealed that beforehand they had said on New Year’s Eve “this year was going to be a good year”.
She added she may do a PHD in a subject like psychology now she has more time on her hands, but insisted there’s “not a chance” the win will “ruin” their lives.
Asked about receiving begging letters, Frances admitted it will “break my heart” and said she is “going to cry myself to sleep” thinking about it. However she added you “can’t help everybody”.
When quizzed on whether she would have to increase her personal security, she joked: “I’ve never met anybody I couldn’t take down myself, to be fair.”
The pleasure for me is going to be seeing people’s faces FRANCES CONNOLLY BELFAST YESTERDAY