“I only had 15 minutes left to get our ticket!” - Summer starts with celebrations for School Syndicate of 18 who claim €250,000 in Lotto HQ

The Craigtown syndicate, made up of 18 teachers and school staff, made the trip to Lotto HQ today to claim their €250,000 prize which they won in the 27th May Lotto Plus 2 draw. The group scooped their top prize win after purchasing their winning ticket at Doherty’s Centra in Moville, Co. Donegal.

Speaking in the Winners Room, Syndicate Manager Margaret Farren, explained that buying the ticket for that particular draw was not as straight forward as usual.

“I was holidaying on the North Antrim coast when I realized that I didn’t have a ticket for the draw that night. I figured that I would get our ticket at some point during the day but as we got closer to the draw time, I was getting worried as I needed to get back to Donegal to get it. By then, it was becoming a mad dash to find the best way back. As luck would have it, the ferry had just started running again the previous day so I got that back to Greencastle and then made my way to Moville to get our ticket. I only had 15 minutes left to get our ticket at that stage,” she said.

Margaret continued that purchasing the ticket still did not go exactly to plan, even after making the journey: “I usually buy a ticket to cover 8 draws but when I got to the shop, the machine was unable to print a ticket for that particular draw only. I would only ever check our tickets after the 8 draws are up but since the ticket was a single draw, I checked the next day and to say it was utter disbelief would be an understatement! If it had have been a ticket for 8 draws, there’s no way I would have known how much we won so soon after. I told the rest of the members the next day after school – they couldn’t believe it when the app said the words ‘You’ve won Big!’ I think our cheers were heard far and wide!”

Photo Caption: The Craigtown syndicate were pictured today celebrating in Lotto HQ collecting their €250,000 cheque after winning the Lotto Plus 2 top prize on Saturday 27th May

Meanwhile, the Craigtown syndicate were not the only Donegal winners to visit Lotto HQ to claim their winnings. A family syndicate claimed over €6.3 million after purchasing their winning ticket for the 17th June draw at McCarrons Village Shop at Quigley’s Point. The Donegal jackpot winners shared the €12,747,756 jackpot with a Westmeath man who also claimed his share of the life-changing amount.

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish Language. In total, more than €6 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 35 years ago. In 2021 alone, €304 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.     

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