EuroMillions golden ticket sold by shop in Malahide

THERE was great excitement in Malahide last week when the National Lottery revealed that a shop in the town sold the winning €38.9 million EuroMillions Jackpot ticket. 

The golden ticket was purchased in The Village Shop, a small independent store in Malahide Shopping Centre. 

Proprietor of the store, Amy Cong, said she was overjoyed at selling the golden ticket to a lucky customer. 

“This is unbelievable,” said Ms Cong. “I am delighted for the winner and the area. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would sell a big winning jackpot ticket.”

Ms Cong, who is originally from the Shandong province of Eastern China, has lived in Ireland for over 20 years and has been running the shop with her husband Ken since 2013. The shop previously sold a Lotto Plus 1 winning ticket worth €300,000.

“This is a small shop in the centre of Malahide but we are busy and we have a lot of regular customers,” said Ms Cong. 

“We have been barely able to contain our excitement since we were told by the National Lottery that we sold the ticket. 

“We had absolutely no idea. There is an amazing buzz here. We have no idea who the lucky winner is but we wish them the best of luck in the future.”

Ms Cong said she and her husband have never experienced anything like this since they started running the business. 

“At the moment, we have just one employee working in the shop but today’s exciting announcement could make us a whole lot busier in the coming months as one of Ireland’s lucky Euromillions winning retailers,” she added. 

The National Lottery has confirmed that the winner of the golden ticket has made contact and arrangements are being made for the claim to be made. A spokesperson said that will be sometime in the next few weeks.

“We have verified the winning ticket and the ticket holder is understandably delighted at their good fortune,” the spokesperson told Northside People.  “They are getting independent legal and financial advice and we look forward to having them come to the winner’s room to collect their cheque in the near future. This is a life-changing amount.”

The massive win follows a lucky EuroMillions Christmas for the town. 

On December 22, Donnybrook Fair in the village sold a winning EuroMillions Plus ticket worth a cool €500,000 to a retired Florida-based priest home on holidays for Christmas.

Meanwhile, National Lottery chief executive Dermot Griffin congratulated Amy Cong and her team on being the sellers of the lucky EuroMillions ticket. He confirmed the shop gets a €25,000 bonus as a result.

“This is fantastic news and we are delighted for Amy and everybody involved with the store in Malahide, and of course, for the lucky winner,” said Mr Griffin.