The luck of the Irish triumphed again in the lottery as an anonymous winner picked up an £80 million cheque – sharing with a ticket holder from Belgium.
The Euromillions jackpot has been won just four times since the lottery started in 2004 – and two of the winners are Irish.
Limerick woman Dolores McNamara banked the largest win in 2005 – a cool £97 million.
This time round, the golden ticket holder remains anonymous.
The big win propels them straight into Ireland’s top 100 rich list – at 96th.
Record lotto win
“I’m absolutely thrilled. Dreams do come true,” the winner said. “The news is still sinking in so for the moment I’d like to keep the win private.
“I’m looking forward to thinking about all the opportunities that are now open to me. It’s a really exciting time.”
The ticket matched the five winning numbers and two stars in the June 24, 2013 draw.
Meanwhile, a polite mum Mindy Crandall made way for a pensioner while queuing for a lottery ticket – only for the 84 year old to buy a ticket to snatch a £385 million win in a Florida state lottery.
The astonished mum saw the pensioner collect her winnings on TV, when her son shouted out that it was the woman she had let jump the queue.
Winner Gloria MacKenzie bought her ticket in a local store at Zephyrhills, Florida.
The prize is the second largest ever – only beaten by the £435 million state lottery jackpot split between three winners in the States in 2012.
Tax on jackpots
All lottery winners in the USA must pay tax on their jackpots. The lottery withholds 25% income tax on wins of more than $5,000, but this is often just the beginning, as the money banked thrusts the winners into the higher rate tax brackets.
The current top rate of tax for individuals earning more than $400,000 in a year is 39.6%.
At that rate, MacKenzie will have to hand a huge £152 million to the US Internal Revenue Service.
Spain’s Christmas Lottery is regarded as the biggest prize find in the world. In 2012, the fund hit £624 million, but the winnings are split between hundreds of tickets.
The biggest UK lottery win was £161 million, which went to Scottish couple Colin and Chris Weir in July 2011.
The couple blew some of their cash on a grand mansion and gifts of luxury cars for friends and relatives.