Prize bond from 1981 secures €1m in Kilkenny

RESIDENTS IN Kilkenny who have 29-year-old prize bonds will be watching their letterboxes on Tuesday after the Prize Bond Company announced a €1 million winner for the county.

The monthly Prize Bonds Millionaire draw, which took place yesterday, yielded a winner for Kilkenny, but the letter confirming the win, to the holder of bond X276271, will not be received until Tuesday due to the bank holiday weekend.

The search may well be on in Kilkenny homes for the bond, purchased in 1981, but its owner need not worry; he or she does not have to produce the bond to claim the prize. As long as the winner can identify himself as the person registered as the bond holder, the money will be theirs.

Kilkenny has not been without luck when it comes to prize bond draws. Residents in the county have won cash prizes totalling close to €200,000 so far this year.

Yesterday’s draw also included a prize of €20,000, five prizes of €1,000, 10 of €250 and almost 6,000 of €75.

Founded in 1957, the prize bonds draw is the longest running raffle in Ireland. It is held every Friday with a top prize of €20,000 and an additional €1 million draw once a month.

The bonds cost €6.25 each and a minimum of four must be purchased at any one time. They earn no interest, but are entered for all of the draws and can be cashed in at any time for their value.

The funds invested in the bonds are measured as part of Ireland’s national debt and the scheme is operated by the Prize Bond Company, a joint venture between An Post and Fexco, on behalf of the National Treasury Management.

Prize bonds have become increasingly popular since the economic downturn. The company reported record sales of €370 million last year, up over 30 per cent on 2008.

The total value of the fund at the end of 2009 was over €1 billion, a record for the company showed.

Michael O’Keeffe, chairman of the company congratulated the unnamed €1 million winner.

“This year will be a big winning year for Prize Bond holders as we expect to award over €30 million worth of prizes in 2010,” he said.