€175m EuroMillions jackpot winner makes contact with National Lottery - BreakingNews.ie

Latest: The winner of last night's €175m EuroMillions jackpot has made contact with the National Lottery this morning.

A spokesperson said the ticket holder contacted Lotto HQ and will be guided through the prize claims process.

However, the spokesperson said they were not in a position to give any other details as yet.

They said that the National Lottery hopes to be able to give details on where the winning ticket was sold later today.

Miriam Donohoe told Today with Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 that the person who made contact was "surprisingly calm and very together".

She added the location of the shop that sold the ticket may be revealed in the coming hours.

National Lottery CEO, Dermot Griffin, said:"We are delighted the winner has made contact. This is an incredible win for an Irish EuroMillions player! And a record win for the National Lottery we are thrilled.

"This has been an incredibly lucky period for players on the island of Ireland. In January a Northern Ireland couple won an amazing €127 million in the EuroMillions jackpot. The luck of the Irish is definitely in the air."

Speculation has been rife on social media today that the ticket was sold in the east of the country.

TD for Meath East and Fianna Fail spokesperson on health Thomas Byrne tweeted earlier: "I'm absolutely delighted to hear that the Euro millions was won in the constituency. From what I'm hearing (and don't ask me!), it couldn't have happened to nicer people. Congratulations!"

Earlier: €175m EuroMillions winner advised to 'take their time and stay calm'

The chief executive of the National Lottery is advising the winner (or winners) of the €175m EuroMillions jackpot to sign the back of the ticket, sit back, take a deep breath and to take their time before making any decisions.

Dermot Griffin told RTE's Morning Ireland that the National Lottery will not reveal the location of the retail outlet where the winning ticket was purchased for a few days.

The reason for this is to allow the winner "to go about their business" without media focus.

"It will take time for this to sink in. They need to take their time and stay calm."

He said that the National Lottery can assist with advice and can outline the advantages and disadvantages of "going public".

It will take a week for the €175m jackpot to be gathered from around Europe, he added.

Mr Griffin said it is always beneficial for winners to get professional advice on trusts and how best to cope with such a windfall. "We've been through this 14 times before."

Irish winners always have favourite charities they want to support, along with family and friends. "Generations to come will be supported by a win like this."

The winning numbers were 1, 8, 18, 19 and 39. The lucky stars were 7 and 9.

This is the 14th Irish EuroMillions win since the game was launched in Ireland in 2004.

July 2005: Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland's first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million.
July 2008: A lucky player from Co. Tipperary won a €15 million jackpot with a ticket bought in Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary.
June 2009: A family syndicate shared the jackpot with a British winner, taking home over €29.4 million with a ticket they purchased in Dublin.
June 2013: A winning ticket sold in Beaumount, Dublin, shared a EuroMillions jackpot worth over €187 million. A Dublin player earned half of the jackpot and picked up over €93 million.
September 2013: A young man from the South East shared a jackpot of over €25 million with a player in Spain, taking home over €12.8 million.
April 2014: A jackpot prize worth €15 million was claimed on a ticket sold in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
September 2014: An €86.7 million jackpot was won by a syndicate from Dublin. The ticket was sold in Centra, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin.
January 2016: A syndicate of friends won over €66 million, splitting the jackpot of €132,376,632. The ticket was sold in Eason's store, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow.
July 2016: 22 colleagues from Dublin Bus won the €23.8 million. The ticket was sold in O'Hanlon's Portarlington.
January 2017: A Dublin work syndicate claimed the €88.5 million EuroMillions jackpot. The winning ticket was sold at the Applegreen Service Station on the M1 Northbound in Lusk, Co. Dublin.
July 2017: A syndicate from the West of Ireland won a €29 million EuroMillions jackpot. The ticket was sold in Garryduff XL Store on Pound Road, Castlebar in Co. Mayo.
December 2017: A small family syndicate from Dublin won €38.9 million on a ticket purchased in The Village Shop in Malahide Shopping Centre
June 2018: 32 colleagues from Stakelums Hardware store in Thurles Co. Tipperary share a €17 million EuroMillions jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Eason's Store in Thurles Shopping Centre in Co. Tipperary.
February 2019: Single winner of EuroMillions. Location to be disclosed