Postie faces daily battle with his own letterbox after winning €7m

HE'S been receiving begging letters every day since he scooped €7m on the Lotto earlier this year.

But multi-millionaire postman Pat Broderick is having to spend even more time opening his mail every morning, as he's been inundated with Christmas cards from strangers.

The Kinsale postie has been flooded with more mail than ever before over the past two weeks from people pleading with him to play Santa and share a slice of his fortune.

The minted mailman (47) is receiving more than a dozen cards a day from strangers, on top of correspondence from people he knows.

Although most 'well-wishers' have asked for modest hand-outs, several are understood to have made desperate pleas for six-figure sums.

A family friend said yesterday: "Pat's received a small amount of begging letters every day since he went public with his win back in March, but they had started to die down a bit late in the summer.

"He was hoping that would be the end of them. But over the past two weeks, with Christmas coming up, he's been literally inundated with mountains of mail every day, mostly Christmas cards from people he doesn't know looking for money.

"He's never been as popular and he's looking forward to Christmas Day, knowing there'll be no mail delivered that day."

Although it's not known if he's donated any of his win -- which was one half of €14m, this year's biggest Lotto jackpot -- generous Pat has kept up his promise to help his family.

Holidays

Last month he bought his three adult daughters -- twins Christina and Ann-Marie (23) and Louise (21) -- separate family homes in a plush new estate near his own home in Co Cork.

And although he and wife Mary (45), who have another son, Timothy (15), have taken several short foreign holidays, they have shown little inclination to splash the cash -- apart from trading in the old family car, a 10-year-old Peugeot 206, for a second-hand BMW.

But despite the begging letters, the Brodericks say their colossal win has transformed their lives for the better.

Speaking earlier this week, Pat, who spends much of his time indulging his passion for golf, recalled: "It was a great thrill, a mighty thrill. Obviously we were a bit nervous about what we were going to do and who we were going to tell. But I just said to myself I'll take it as it comes. Things have settled down a lot, it's great.

Mary, who has continued with her old job managing Kinsale community playschool, added: "The best part is having no money worries and being able to enjoy life."