29m euro euromillions jackpot ticket bought in Co Mayo

By Ed Carty

The hunt for a 29 million euro EuroMillions winner has been narrowed down to a local shop in Castlebar, Co Mayo.

The jackpot Quick Pick ticket was sold in Garryduff XL Store on Pound Road in a residential part of the town.

Shop owner Umesh Kumar, who came to Ireland from New Delhi in India in 2006 to study business, said he thought it was a prank when he took a call from lottery chiefs on Monday night.

"We had no idea at all. We are all thrilled here at the news. It is a great boost for the area and we are delighted for the winner, whoever it is. It will take a while for this to sink in," he said.

"It's just unreal. I can't get my head around it. It's such a large amount. Congratulations to them."

It is the second EuroMillions jackpot win for Castlebar.

In April 2014, a jackpot prize worth a massive 15 million euro was claimed on a ticket sold in Staunton's Costcutter Express in Castlebar. On that occasion, the winner did not go public.

The National Lottery said the winning ticketholder made contact with its offices in Dublin after a weekend of speculation.

They have 90 days to come to the headquarters to claim the prize.

Chief executive Dermot Griffin said: "This is very exciting news but it is important that the winner is given the time and space to make arrangements and to let the news sink in.

"This is an incredible amount of money to win, and we have advised the winner to get independent financial and legal advice.

"We are looking forward to handing over the winning cheque in our winners' room in the next week or so. And we are delighted for Umesh and his staff, who sold this ticket."

It is the 11th time a EuroMillions jackpot has been won in Ireland.

It follows the win for a Dublin work syndicate in January this year when they shared out an 88.5 million euro jackpot.

The country's biggest win remains Dolores McNamara from Limerick, who took home 115 million euro in 2005.