£26.8m EuroMillions Winner Passes Away

Margaret Loughrey from Strabane in Northern Ireland who won a £26.8m EuroMillions jackpot in 2013 has died. The lottery winner was sadly found dead at her home in Strabane on the morning of September 2. She was in her 50s and been praised for the generosity that was shown to others after her win.

Life for Margaret wasn’t easy before her EuroMillions win. She was unemployed and on the day her winning EuroMillions ticket was purchased, attended a job market. Her aim was to collect an application form for a charity job.

Changing the lives of others

Soon after, Ms Loughrey became a millionaire but her EuroMillions windfall wasn’t going to be all for herself. “I don’t feel like I’ve won the lottery, I feel like everyone has won it because this is going to change so many lives,” she said. Having spent half of her adult life unemployed and the other half on a minimum wage, “I know only too well how hard things can be.”

The EuroMillions winner never moved away from Strabane. She soon began to set up companies to provide employment for local people. Not all of her plans worked out though, particularly the purchase of Herdman’s Mill.  That’s something every lottery winner who wishes to make investments or set up companies has to deal with.

New projects were underway

Recently, the EuroMillions winner had purchased a local pub called ‘The Greyhound Bar.’ Her dream was to revamp it and change the name to ‘The Back Street Bar.’ Another desire was to purchase land and build 18 affordable homes.

Tributes have been paid to the EuroMillions winner. Strabane councillor Paul Gallagher had known Margaret before her big win. The councillor commented: “She never asked to be a millionaire. It was thrust upon her but she was very generous with it.”

He told how Ms Loughrey had made all her family and some close friends millionaires. Donations were also made to neighbours as well as local and national charities.

Police say that there are no suspicious circumstances concerning her death and a post mortem will be held.

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