Couple's 'prayer of thanks' for €1m win

The husband and wife, who do not want to go public, revealed they were still stunned at the news of their incredible windfall on the Daily Millions draw from last Wednesday.

They said that "the Holy Spirit must have been looking over us" on the day they played the game.

Surreal

"I play Daily Millions regularly and checked my ticket in my local shop the day after the draw," the husband said.

"The scanning machine told me to ring the National Lottery. But like any good man, the first thing I did was ring my wife.

"We are still processing this big win. It is surreal but we are delighted."

His wife added: "We called into the church on the way in here today to say a prayer of thanks.

"This will make a huge difference to us and will make life a lot more comfortable."

The couple's first priority is to pay off the mortgage on the family home.

They will then give consideration to giving their adult children some money. "However, we have not told anybody at all about the win," the man added.

"We will wait a few weeks before we do. We want to let this sink in, and we are determined it will be life as normal. We are both working, and that won't change."

This is the first Daily Millions win of 2018. There are two draws every day at 2pm and 9pm with a guaranteed top prize of €1m.

Nearly 30 cents in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to good causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts and heritage.

In total more than €5bn has been raised for good causes since the National Lottery was established 30 years ago.

Last year alone, it raised over €225m for good causes.