The couple who won the £115m EuroMillions jackpot on New Year’s Day have said they plan to share their good fortune with at least 50 friends – but they have not told them yet.
Frances and Patrick Connolly, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, were named on Friday as the winners of the prize. The couple, who won £114,969,775.70, said their first priority was to compile a list of family and friends who they would help.
Frances Connolly, 52, said: “This is a massive sum of money and we want it to have a huge impact on the lives of other people we know and love as well as on our future too. This win gives us the chance to really make a difference for our family and friends.
“I always hoped we would win the lottery one day, but when we did, it would be just our luck that lots of others would win on the same day with the same numbers too – never in my wildest dreams did I think we would ever win almost £115m.”
The couple said they sat in silence after they realised they had won, struggling to take it in. Patrick Connolly said: “We really didn’t know what to do or how to react and we didn’t sleep a wink that night.
“We rang Camelot at 8am in the morning to verify the win. Then it started to dawn on us that it was true even though it still hasn’t really sunk in.”