A couple from Co Kildare are looking forward to a happy weekend after picking up a cheque for €500k from Lotto HQ.
They had bought their winning EuroMillions ticket for last Friday's draw on the National Lottery app.
They're now looking forward to big plans for the future, including paying off their mortgage.
And they are also looking at fulfilling a dream of owning a holiday home.
They said: "The night of the draw, we checked our online lottery account and seen that our balance was at zero so we automatically assumed that we didn’t win anything.
"When we got up the following morning, I checked my email and there was a message from the National Lottery with the subject, ‘congratulations – you are a winner.’
"My initial reaction was that there must have been a mistake because my balance was still at zero. We checked and double checked the ticket and I swear, we haven’t stopped jumping around since, it’s an incredible feeling."
They continued: "We weren’t even going to play the Plus with our EuroMillions ticket. It was a five week month between pay-days so we were a bit tight financially and we thought we could save an extra euro by not playing it.
"We had our numbers picked on the phone and before we purchased the ticket, we said ‘feck it’ and added the Plus game as well – I don’t think we’d ever have forgiven ourselves if our numbers came up and we would have lost out on a half million for the sake of a euro!”
Despite the big win, the couple swear that they won't be getting carried away.
All they're hoping for is a home abroad with a swimming pool.
“We’re very sensible people so we won’t be getting carried away with the win. We will be paying off what’s left on our mortgage and a few bills that we have.
"However, we have always had a pipe dream of owning a home abroad – preferably one with a swimming pool. It’s one of those little fantasies which we’d talk to each other about when the rain is pelting on the windows outside.
"But that’s all it was – a fantasy. Realistically, it’s never something that would have happened until now. Once the dust has settled down we will start looking at properties in our price range, it’s incredibly exciting."
