Ireland’s newest millionaires pick up prize

There were plenty of smiles and cheers at the National Lottery’s headquarters in Dublin today - and that’s before Ireland’s newest lotto winners arrived to claim their prize.

A bus load of family and friends made the trip from Mullingar to celebrate Carol Loran (39) and Kevin Geoghegan (46) scooping the €10.6million jackpot.

The lucky couple arrived at the city centre venue in style in a Rolls Royce. Despite their new-found fortune, both insist the win will not change them or their families.

The pair, who had their first date on May 11th, are planning a holiday together before they decide what to do with the money, which they plan to share equally.

“It’s split down the middle and that’s it,” Ms Loran insisted. She bought the winning €4 quick pick ticket in Tesco in Mullingar last Tuesday.

Mr Geoghegan said the enormity of their win was just beginning to sink in. “It kind of hit me there today, I got a bit emotional ... it’s just an unbelievable feeling.

“This story is going to make lots of people happy, not just me and Carol ... I work hard, she works hard, you know what I mean, and it’s nice to see someone that has nothing winning for a change.”

Ms Loran has five children and said she plans to make sure they know “life isn’t easy ... you work for everything”. She said the children have “no wishlist” in terms of what the money should be spent on. “They know mammy - if they ask her more than once, it’s definitely a ‘no’.” Her son Christopher (16) said the windfall won’t change much at home: “Everything’s going to stay the same.”

Mr Geoghegan, a father of three, plans to quit his job at Trend Technologies in Mullingar.

Ms Loran is a trainee cashier in Boylesports and hopes to return to work in a few weeks. “I’ve always worked and I’m certainly not a lazy person ... I’m not one to be spoilt.” Despite the win, Ms Loran said she is still worried about next week’s bills: “I hope they don’t mind an IOU for a few weeks.”