Lotto luck for Duleek

A lucky Duleek couple proved that lightning can strike twice when they scooped more than €100,000 playing separate National Lottery games two days apart - on tickets bought in the same shop!

The overjoyed great grandparents said today they could not believe their double luck as County Meath once again came up trumps for National Lottery players.

Last Thursday, the wife won €10,000 on Telly Bingo on a ticket purchased in Eurospar in Duleek. Two days later her retired husband won an incredible €92,652 on Saturday’s Lotto Match 5 Plus Bonus on a Quickpick ticket bought in the same shop.

Incredibly, in the Lotto draw a week earlier, another Duleek couple Karl and Andrea Scarff also matched 5 numbers and the bonus to win a prize of €45,742. They purchased their winning ticket online.

The couple with the latest win told how the TellyBingo ticket was purchased on the day of the anniversary of the death of theitr son. And the Saturday Lotto win was on the day of the anniversary of his funeral.

“We really believe he was up there looking after us” the great grandmother said. “It is such a coincidence that our wins came at this time. On the day of Telly Bingo I had gone to my son’s grave to clean it up and say a prayer.”

Because the Lotto win fell over a Bank Holiday weekend the husband had to keep his winning ticket safe until he could come into National Lottery headquarters today to claim his prize.

“The safest place I could think of was the attic. That’s where the ticket has been for the last few days! I didn’t sleep a wink last night with excitement and worry. ”

The couple have no plans yet on how they will spend the money. “We have a few family Holy Communions in the family this month so this will certainly help towards that,” said the winning wife. “And we will do a few jobs on the house also. But we won’t be going mad.”

Meanwhile the shop owner, Michael Bennett, was delighted to have sold the double winning tickets.

“We are thrilled for this couple and for the village. We have come through several years of recession and it is nice to think that the area might be getting a little bit back. It is great for the village.”

Meath is proving lucky when it comes to the National Lottery. The Centra shop in Carlanstown in Kells sold a €500,000 EuroMillions ticket last week, their second huge win in just eight months. The same shop sold a winning EuroMillions Match 5 + Lucky Star ticket worth €436,958 last August.