This is how much Ireland's Euromillions winner will earn in interest alone
The mystery winner of Ireland's largest-ever €250m EuroMillions windfall will earn €5m a year in interest without even spending a cent of their newfound mega-fortune.
Financial experts this weekend said even Ireland's notoriously stingy banks would pay 2% interest on the massive winnings.
And even if they don't opt to squirrel away their fortune in a high-interest Swiss bank account, the 2% Irish rate would still earn the winner a princely €416,667 every month on €250 million, or €5,000,000 a year. In Co. Cork, Ireland, the winning €250 million EuroMillions ticket was located last week. Pic: Shutterstock
At the stroke of a pen – or a computer-generated quick-pick – the newly minted lottery winner has landed almost half of U2 frontman Bono's personal fortune, or a shade less than golf Grand Slam hero Rory McIlroy's reported €280m earnings.
It's likely the elated lottery winner will blow at least a portion of their megabucks windfall on a new home, a holiday or a toy.
If it's the latter, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class will set them back a mere €242,655. Or if they fancy themselves more of a high-flyer, every billionaire's 'must-have' toy – a Gulfstream jet – would cost around €70m. Mercedes S-Class. Pic: Getty Images
However, the winner could probably afford to splash out around €9.5 million for an 11-seater Pilatus PC-24, though it would be more sensible to hire one as needed.
Chartering a Pilatus PC-24 from Dublin to the south of France would cost €10,474 – mere pocket change to the winner, whoever they are.
As they mull over their life-changing windfall, the rumour mill over the identity of Ireland's biggest-ever lottery winner was in overdrive yesterday. Pilatus PC-24 Pic: NICOLAS MESSYASZ/SIPA/Shutterstock (15365121a)
Anyone who walks into the Centra shop on Cork's Shandon Street, where the winning ticket was sold this week, is a likely suspect.
And the manager of the city centre shop, run by three generations of the Clifford family, said Cork's finest sleuths are determined to crack the still-unsolved mystery.
Simon Champ told Extra.ie: 'It's like a small town in the middle of the city here and it would be very hard to keep it a secret long in an area like this. Simon Champ. Pic: Seán Dwyer 21/06/25
'I don't know who the winner is and we're trying to enjoy the buzz and the craic,' he said.
'So, anyone who comes in over the next few weeks with a new shirt, a new watch or a new hairstyle or haircut, we'll be looking at them and asking: 'How can you afford that?''
Mr Champ added that, for whoever has landed the windfall, 'this is a real opportunity for someone to do something for their community.' He jokingly added: 'As long as it isn't Elon Musk, we're happy.'
On Thursday evening, the owners of the busy shop in the heart of Cork city were notified they had sold the winning ticket. The National Lottery. Pic: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Mr Champ recalled: 'The National Lottery rang us on Thursday evening. The owner, Ted Clifford, is on holiday, so I then got a phone call.
'It was around six or half six in the evening, and I was in the car on my way home to Fermoy.
'I thought it was a wind-up. I thought it was someone scamming me. But when the person explained who they were, I had to pull in the car for a few minutes.'
While the identity of the winner is not yet known, they have been in contact with the National Lottery head office in Dublin. They have 90 days to collect their quarter of a billion fortune – and until they do, the guessing game continues in the close-knit neighbourhood around Shandon Street.
Esther Cotter, who works at the Homer pub just a few doors up from Clifford's shop, is a regular lottery player, but insisted she is not the €250m winner.
She said: 'We haven't a notion who it is. Everyone is hoping it is someone local. You couldn't keep that quiet here.'
Her pal Noelle Nagle agreed, and she's hopeful the windfall will be collected by someone whose life will change for the better.
'We hope that it's someone that needs it. It isn't us,' adding she heard the €250m winning ticket was bought for €7.
Local Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould also said it's only a matter of time before the winner's identity becomes known, if they are local.
Mr Gould, whose constituency office is just across the road from Clifford's shop, told Extra.ie: 'No one has an idea who it is. Whoever it is, I just wish them all the best. It's an enormous amount of money.
'Clifford's is a real local shop on Shandon Street, and people are delighted we have had such a big win in our local shop. It's something that would be very hard to keep a secret here because everyone knows everyone, and there are great friendships and neighbours here.
'It's probably someone local who has won,' he added.
Meanwhile, one of the few people on Shandon Street yesterday who was not trying to guess the identity of the new multimillionaire was three-year-old Loug from Youghal, Co. Cork.
He and his granny Mary Cooper arrived at Clifford's after hopping on the bus in their home town and wandered into the shop on Shandon Street after spotting a display of balloons erected to celebrate the €250m win.
They may not be the Lotto millionaires, but little Loug still walked away a winner with a free ice cream cone given to him by shop manager Simon.
Loug's granny, Mary, said: 'We head off every Saturday together to go to all these free things, and we came to the shop because Loug loves balloons.
'I think it's great. I hope it's a group of people who have won because I think they might be happier in the long run.
'We came for the Shandon Festival and the manager told us where to go and he gave Loug a free ice cream cone,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
RTÉ coverage of Pope Francis's funeral and election of Pope Leo cost €150k
RTÉ's coverage of the death of Pope Francis and the subsequent election of Pope Leo cost the broadcaster €150,000. Figures released under Freedom of Information show that the broadcaster's extensive coverage of the death of the pontiff included €4,200 in venue hire and over €1,200 in subsistence costs for management grade staff from Radio 1, with the overall costs of travel, hotels, and subsistence coming in at around €150,000 in total. RTÉ provided hours of coverage across its platforms upon the death of Pope Francis in April, including his funeral and the election of American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church and the successor to Francis as Pope Leo. The station's output included a special broadcast of its flagship Prime Time programme with records showing that staff airfares and hotels for that show cost around €3,600. While the cost of flights was one of the larger outlays, some airfares came in at as little as €13. The world's media and thousands of pilgrims descended on the Vatican City upon the death of Pope Francis, with mourners standing in line for hours to pay their final respects while his body lay in state in St Peter's Basilica ahead of his funeral. That was followed by coverage ahead of the papal conclave which lasted just over a day and a half and resulted in the election of the first American pope. In response to the FOI request, RTÉ said: "In relation to hotels, it is not possible to extract a precise spend on this alone so we have included 'staff subsistence' which would cover this and other costs. "Similar to civil and public servants, RTÉ personnel were paid to a set 'day rate' which would cover the cost of accommodation as well as food etc. "[T]he costs incurred were necessary to allow RTÉ fulfil its obligations to provide comprehensive coverage of two major global events across radio, television and online in both Irish and English. "Those who travelled provided many hours of coverage for all radio and television news and current affairs programming as well as online content spanning the days between the death of Pope Francis to the election of Pope Leo." Read More Pope Leo XIV calls for aid to reach Gaza in first general audience
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
€5bn plan to turn Athlone into a green city unveiled
A €5bn master plan has been unveiled for a new green city in Athlone as a solution to Ireland's future population growth. The blueprint by Ballymore Group aims to cater for a population of 100,000 by 2040. The details were outlined by the groups founder and chairman, Sean Mulryan, who shared his vision for a sustainable planned 15-minute city with a wide range of stakeholders including Government ministers and opposition spokespeople, and with senior figures across the Irish education sector, industry, state agencies and local authorities. The plan, which Mr Mulryan spoke about it detail in the Business Post today, was later confirmed by his company. The plan proposes the expansion of the TUS university campus in Athlone to facilitate 25,000 students. The plan also proposes the construction of a 5,000 bed eco-friendly student village. Mr Mulryan's plan includes 20,000 zero-carbon homes as well as new health, educational, arts and sporting facilities to facilitate the population growth it estimates will reach 100,000 people. The plan also proposes that 5,000 hectares of surrounding land is allocated for rewilded wetlands, callows and rewetting of bogs. Mr Mulryan said the plan, which is seven years in the making, has been discussed with government ministers, opposition spokespeople and senior stakeholders in the education and industry sectors, as well as state agencies and local authorities. In a statement today, the company said that the plan for Athlone is "one that could be replicated to provide regionally balanced growth while enabling Ireland's green transition". he company said: "Athlone was identified as the ideal pilot as it has all the fundamental building blocks in place including the university, a town centre with room to expand and enable green transport and the natural resources to allow 90% of its energy to be generated from renewal sources and to support the national energy transition. "It's central location in the heart of Ireland and bridging the North-West and Midlands regions also ensure a wide economic benefit." Mr Mulryan said his company will do all it can to make the plan become a reality however "it needs to be driven from the top by government, by this administration and by the successor governments that take office in the years ahead, if it is to come to pass." Mr Mulryan has assembled a steering group to bring this new green city to life. The company wants to see the adoption of the National Planning Framework to allow for the delivery of educational, residential, commercial and biodiverse infrastructure. Athlone and the surrounding areas must also be declared as nationally important strategic, enterprise and biodiversity zones, it said. Ballymore hopes to secure private and public investment for the plan which it said is "a credible blueprint for addressing Ireland's demographic and environmental challenges, decarbonising and stimulating the economy, restoring natural habitats and rebalancing development away from the east coast"
Sunday World
4 hours ago
- Sunday World
Mike Lynch's sunken superyacht taken to Sicilian town for full probe
Irish tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter were among those killed when the superyacht sank off Sicily on August 19 Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Peter Byrne/PA Wire Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Peter Byrne/PA Wire Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Peter Byrne/PA Wire Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Peter Byrne/PA Wire Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht has been taken to the town where British and Italian investigators will carry out a full probe into the sinking. Seven people died when the Bayesian sank off Sicily on August 19 including billionaire Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18. The vessel was held above the water by one of Europe's most powerful floating sea cranes, which set off from the fishing village Porticello at around 1.10pm local time. It was held in front of the crane as it moved. People navigate on a boat past the wreckage of "Bayesian" yacht. Photo: REUTERS/Igor Petyx The vessel arrived in Termini Imerese, a town around 12 milies away at just after 3pm on Sunday. It will then be moved into a specially manufactured steel cradle, which has a tarpaulin underneath for pollution prevention. Salvage workers on site, not accompanying the vessel to port, are conducting a 'full sweep' of the seabed near Porticello for any potential debris, a project insider said. Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Peter Byrne/PA Wire Italian prosecutors previously said raising and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key information for its investigation into the sinking. It will also aid the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report on what happened. Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire News in 90 Seconds - June 22nd Simon Graves, an MAIB investigator, previously told the PA news agency: 'When the wreck is brought ashore, we'll be completing a full examination of the wreck and we'll be finding out all of the elements that might have contributed to the safety of the vessel.' Further details such as 'escape routes' will be included in its final report on the sinking, according to Mr Graves, who added: 'Once we get access to the vessel we'll be able to tell a fuller picture of activities on board and the sequence of events.' The wreckage of "Bayesian" yacht. Photo: REUTERS/Igor Petyx The vessel was originally expected to be raised last month but salvage efforts were delayed after a diver died during underwater work on May 9, prompting greater use of remote-controlled equipment. About 70 specialist personnel had been mobilised to Porticello from across Europe to work on the recovery operation. Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals. Tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht the Bayesian is moved after being lifted to the surface near the fishing town of Porticello, Sicily. Peter Byrne/PA Wire Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued. Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks, Kent.
