Irish priest wins €500k while home for Xmas..

Cleric vows to share good fortune

AN Irish priest visiting home for Christmas thanked the heavens after he won €500,000 in the Euromillions Plus draw.

The retired cleric, who is originally from Mayo but now based in Florida, bought the winning quick pick in Donnybrook Fair in Malahide, Dublin.

He joked that God must be listening to his prayers because this is not his first major win.

The priest scooped IR£15,000 on the old Irish Sweepstakes – the game which was replaced by the National Lottery 30 years ago.

The blessed cleric also won amounts of $3,000 and $5,000 over the years in lotteries in the US.

He said: “I suppose you can say I am lucky. But I have always had a policy of sharing my luck around.

“That is something that my late mother taught me, and something that was also drummed into me by a bishop when I was a young priest.

“I am a big believer that what goes around comes around. This is a huge amount of money and I look forward to giving some back.”

The priest heard last Saturday that one of the two winning Euromillions Plus tickets was purchased in Donnybrook Fair in Malahide.

He added: “I didn’t get too excited when I heard first. I went back to the shop and gave the ticket to the same girl I had purchased it from to be checked.

“Lo and behold there was a message on the system to contact the National Lottery. So I knew I had won.”

The winner, who enjoys regular visits back to the West, said he spent a lovely Christmas Day with relatives in Dublin.