A Co Limerick newsagent, the G.O store in Gallyowen, has had the good fortune of selling two extremely lucrative National Lottery tickets. Once in 2005, Dolores McNamara bought her winning lottery ticket at this shop which was worth a staggering €115 million from the EuroMillions. Fast forward to the present, the shop has once again sold a winning ticket of nearly €9 million, precisely €8,970,934 from the Saturday night’s draw.
In the past, Ms McNamara’s victory was the largest lottery win registered in the state’s history, until a family in north Dublin outdid her success in 2019 by bagging a €175 million jackpot. There’s a banner inside the G.O store that stretches eight metres long, serving as a reminder to the customers of Ms McNamara’s win.
Tom Brosnan, the store manager, announced on Monday that they had once again sold the winning ticket, although it’s a mystery to the staff, who the customer is or when they bought it. As far as they’re aware, the ticket was sold somewhere between last Wednesday and Saturday. The shop is all geared up with balloons and banners for the big reveal staged by the National Lottery later this afternoon.
Having seen the two jackpot winners, along with many other customers winning substantial cash prizes, Brosnan confidently asserts, “I’d say we’d be the luckiest shop in Ireland.” Brosnan was unfamiliar with Ms MacNamara prior to her win, although she was recognized by the store staff. Brosnan recalls that her win drove more customers to the store for several years afterwards and he’s optimistic that this latest win will have the same impact.