Mullingar Lotto winners celebrate €10.5m jackpot

There were joyous scenes as Ireland’s latest Lotto winners celebrated their €10.5 million jackpot win in Co Westmeath today.

Divorced father of three, Kevin Geoghegan(46) and his partner mother of five Carol Loran(39) were enjoying their win surrounded by friends and family in Dolan's pub in Mullingar.

Speaking outside Dolan’s , Mr Geoghegan said “I’ve had enough of the hardship so now it’s going to be good times.”

“It’s the best thing ever happened me,” said Mr Geoghegan. “it’s gonna be especially for my three children, my three kids the most important people in my life, Fergal(14), Ciaran(8) and Aoife(11)” he said.

“I do be lucky in general but this is unbelievable for me…this is going to be the best ever but especially for my three kids they are the most important people in my life, and my family.”

Mr Geoghegan, who works at Trend Technologies in Mullingar, has never had a driving licence. “I don’t own a car, I walk, I run I played for the town(Mullingar Town soccer) all my life,” he explained.

He began a relationship with Ms Loran just a few weeks ago, but admitted he had asked her out on a number of occasions while visiting the bookmakers. “I was working last night and I just came home from work and Carol my lady friend rang me and told me. I didn’t believe her at first, I thought she was messing,” Mr Geoghegan remarked.

He now plans to stay living in Mullingar and buy his own house. “I’ll go somewhere nice for a holiday when the dust settles,” he said. “We have loads to look after, loads of family and loads of friends and we will look after them, that’s the way it is.”

Mr Geoghegan’s mother Jane(77) will certainly benefit from the windfall. “My mother is the best woman in the world. She kept ten children going when she had nothing, she is the best woman in the world, she is still alive and I love her,” he said, adding, “she can have whatever she wants.”

Ms Loran who has five children Anthony(24), Ian(22), Jamie(19), Christopher(16) and Ethan(8) said she very rarely plays the Lotto. She said she would play, “maybe once twice a year, I played because Kevin gave me the €2 to halves on the quick pick.”

As the magnitude of the win dawned on the pair, Boylesports worker Carol said she was unsure of exactly how to spend the money, “I’ve no plans, I’ll let it all sink in first,” she remarked.

Admitting it was Kevin’s idea to buy the ticket, “it was indeed, but I bought it,” she said. She said she loves working in Boylesports and has no plans to leave.

Staff at Tesco in Mullingar had champagne on ice this morning as they awaited news of the lucky winner.

The €4 quick pick ticket was bought in the Tesco store on Tuesday. Store manager Kieran Rushe described the news as fantastic and said champagne was at the ready.

“We found out this morning at about 8.20. We have had loads of people coming checking tickets,” he remarked.

Mullingar Tesco’s most notable employee, Niall Horan’s father Bobby, works at the meat counter in Tesco but was unavailable for comment.

Mr Rushe said discovering the identity of the winner may prove difficult. “Around 90 percent of our tickets would have been €4 quick picks, it’s the most popular ticket,” he remarked.

Staff were delighted that the ticket was sold in Mullingar. “We will get a small prize for ourselves. We don’t know exactly how much that is but that will go to the social fund for the staff,” Mr Rushe explained.

There was disappointment for one Mullingar Tesco worker who raced home to check whether the €4 quick pick he purchased on Tuesday was the jackpot winner.

Thomas Rafferty(53) said he knew “in his heart” that he has scooped the €10.5 million. Mr Rafferty, a single man from Tubber in Co Offaly, was given permission to leave work just before noon.

“I bought the ticket at about 12.15 on Tuesday,” explained Mr Rafferty, “when I looked at it I said they’re my numbers and I’m confident that I won it.”

“I can feel it in my heart. There’s something there that I know, I guarantee you, I have it won.” he said before making the journey home. Mr Rafferty said he was working in the bog on Wednesday and didn’t check his number.

However, he returned an hour later crestfallen. “I was absolutely convinced,” he admitted after checking his ticket.

Tesco in Mullingar sold a €250,000 Millionaire Raffle ticket on New Years Eve and also had a jackpot winner a number of years ago. The winning numbers of Wednesday nights lotto were 6,12,14,16,33,43 and the bonus number was 2.

Boylesports Chief Executive John Boyle travelled to Mullingar to congratulate Ireland’s latest lotto winner and Boylesports employee Carol Loran.

“We are all thrilled and delighted for Carol, she’s such a grounded girl. She got her result this morning and she stayed in the shop, she actually rang for permission to leave the shop,” Mr Boyle explained.

He has now offered her the opportunity to buy into the chain. “Do you know what she said to me in the shop there, she said, ‘isn’t this great for the company’, that’s what she said, that’s a giving person,” he remarked.

“I’ve offered her, if she wanted, to buy in. We are all just thrilled, I left head office there and the buzz in head office was unreal,” he added.

Ms Loran admitted staying at her post for an hour after discovering she had won the jackpot. In a state of disbelief she handed the ticket to her deputy manager Amy Mulvany.

Ms Mulvany was shocked, “I didn’t do a runner,” she joked. “She just handed me the ticket and said look at that,” said Ms Mulvany.

The dedicated Boylesports cashier and lotto winner has made no future plans, “I’ll have to sit down with my children to talk about it, they come first,” she said, adding, “I’ve no plans, I’ll just see what happens.”

Although only employed at Boylesports for just over a year, Ms Loran said she loves her job and couldn’t see herself leaving. “I’d like to keep my job,” she insisted.