€175m Euromillions winners want to change their family's lives
The winners of the biggest Euromillions jackpot in Irish history say they want to use their €175 million jackpot to change the lives of their kids, grandchildren and siblings.
The North Dublin family syndicate which scooped the jackpot of €175,475,380 in the Euromillions draw on Tuesday, February 19th, has now collected its winnings from lottery headquarters.
From the Naul in the north of the county, the family has kept a low profile and has spent the days since winning the jackpot seeking financial and legal advice.
Gerry Brown, whose wife is a member of the winning group, said they have had a hectic time since discovering that they won the life-changing sum
Mr Brown, who will buy a new bike from the winnings, told RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke that his wife 'could hardly talk' when she realised they had won.
Mr Brown insists that none of the syndicate wants their lives to change too much after the win:
"It has been pretty good so far. It was a fairly hectic week. But, so far, everything is pretty positive. It is hard to believe it, really."
When his wife discovered that they had won, she put the ticket into an Argos catalogue and left it there overnight before they took the bus to lottery headquarters the following day to deposit it.
Mr Brown has lived in the Naul for 35 years. His wife is originally from the Naul and he said that neither of them wants to leave the area, despite their win: "I don't think I'll ever move out of the Naul. If you're happy here, why would you go somewhere that you don't even know?"
He praised the locals who kept their identity a secret when a media scrum descended on the area last week and added that the family is keen to get back to normality after the massive win: "I would be hoping to get back to it (normal life). I'd rather just go back the way I was. Happy enough before I won it so I don't want it to change too much. We are all retired so work is no issue."
Mr Brown said the syndicate has yet to splurge on its winnings but that they are looking forward to looking after their families: "If I won it 30 years ago, it might be different. At our age, it's probably not as big a deal. The best thing about it is what you can do for other people, look after the kids and grandkids and that sort of thing."
The winning ticket was sold at Reilly's Daybreak in the Naul.
National Lottery chief executive Dermot Griffin said: "I am absolutely thrilled for the family and it was a pleasure meeting them in National Lottery HQ and to share their excitement and joy. Happy days like this is part of what playing National Lottery games is all about. This has been a historic few weeks for us with our biggest ever jackpot payout."
