‘Waste of time' trawling CCTV for €250m EuroMillions winner,' says manager of Cork Centra shop that sold record jackpot ticket

The shop that sold the winning EuroMillions ticket worth €250m has said it would be 'a waste of time' trawling through CCTV footage to identify the winner because of the sheer number of people who bought a ticket in the run-up to the draw.

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This is how much Ireland's Euromillions winner will earn in interest alone

Extra.ie

4 hours ago

Extra.ie

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 '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 '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.

Irish Independent

9 hours ago

Irish Independent