Bere islanders' syndicate picks up EuroMillions' €500,000

THE winners of the Bere Island €500,000 EuroMillions Plus lottery ticket are a syndicate.

A week after the 180 residents of Bere Island were thrust into the international spotlight, the syndicate has made contact with National Lottery headquarters.

After taking some time to come to terms with their win, a small group have finally made the long trip to National Lottery offices in Dublin to collect their €500,000 prize as they became the 21st EuroMillions Plus top prize winners in Ireland so far this year.
‘It’s been an absolutely crazy week,’ said the syndicate leader, who confirmed that the syndicate were all from the island.
The group bought their winning Quick Pick ticket from postmistress, Mary Murphy, who only began selling Lottery tickets last October, following the roll-out of National Lottery products through the An Post network.

While the group wish to keep their win private, they admitted that it is probably the worst kept secret among their neighbours on the island.

‘We’ve timed this perfectly as we hear there’s a television crew from SKY on the island looking for us this morning,’ they laughed.

See full story in this week's Southern Star - out Thursday.