A couple from Co. Kildare are a half a million euro richer after winning the EuroMillions Plus top prize last week.
They collected their €500k cheque from National Lottery headquarters after winning with a ticket they bought on the National Lottery App.
The pair, who plan to pay off their mortgage and wish to keep their win private, said they almost didn't spend the extra euro on the Plus game as it was a financially tight month for them.
"We weren’t even going to play the Plus with our EuroMillions ticket. It was a five-week month between pay-days so we were a bit tight financially and we thought we could save an extra euro by not playing it," they said.
"We had our numbers picked on the phone and before we purchased the ticket, we said ‘feck it’ and added the Plus game as well.
I don’t think we’d ever have forgiven ourselves if our numbers came up and we would have lost out on a half million for the sake of a euro!
They said they "haven’t stopped jumping around" since they became the 17th EuroMillions Plus top prize winners in Ireland this year.
The couple are considering buying their dream home in the sun with the rest of their winnings.
"We’re very sensible people so we won’t be getting carried away with the win. We will be paying off what’s left on our mortgage and a few bills that we have.
"However, we have always had a pipe dream of owning a home abroad – preferably one with a swimming pool. It’s one of those little fantasies which we’d talk to each other about when the rain is pelting on the windows outside. But that’s all it was – a fantasy. Realistically, it’s never something that would have happened until now.
"Once the dust has settled down we will start looking at properties in our price range, it’s incredibly exciting."
Tonight’s jackpot is heading for €120m.
