Irish Family Syndicate Win €500,000 EuroMillions Prize

For two years, the Donnelly family from Co Louth in Ireland have been playing the Irish Lotto together. The syndicate (known as ‘The Donns’) has now won a €500,000 prize in the January 28 EuroMillions draw.

There are 18 members of this EuroMIllions winning syndicate with everyone from brothers to sisters and nephews and nieces joining in. Playing the lottery together was “a fun way to stay connected,” said the syndicate leader Kenneth Donnolly.

They have had some small wins in the past but only €4 or €8 which they used to save for Christmas.  Last Tuesday saw them heading to National Lottery HQ in Dublin to be presented with their winner’s cheque.

The syndicate leader recalled the moment their EuroMillions win was discovered. Usually he checks the EuroMillions results on the night of the draw but not on this occasion. “It slipped my mind,” he said. Then his wife sent him a text telling him a €500,000 winning ticket had been sold where they purchased their tickets.

“You’ve won big”

“When I saw the winning numbers, I nearly died with shock!” he recalled.  A $15 million Oz Lotto winner nearly had a heart attack  when finding out they’d won.

The shocked player had to rush back to Drogheda from Dublin as the winning ticket was in his car. Then he checked the ticket on his app and it came up  “You’ve won Big".

Donn Island?

The syndicate have previously joked that they’d love to buy a small island. National Lottery spokesperson Emma Monaghan said she was “absolutely delighted for the family.” She added: “It’s so heart-warming to see a family come together and share such a joyous occasion. Then she jested: “Maybe we’ll be hearing about Donn Island in the near future.”

More realistically they’re now booking holidays with trips to Nashville and New York being planned. Perhaps they might be able to buy an island  if winning the €130 million EuroMillions Superdraw on March 7.

Tonight’s EuroMillions draw has a €63 million (£53 million) jackpot.

Buy tickets now from Lottery24.