Plenty of smiles from winning ticket seller Erin Dooley and proprietor Michael Hanrahan at the lotto machine in Hanrahan’s Londis, The Faythe. Pic: Jim Campbell

IT WASN’T the average Sunday morning in Hanrahan’s Londis of the Faythe at the weekend as local customers trailed in, having heard the news that Saturday night’s €7.9 winning Lottery ticket had been purchased in the shop the previous day.

The shop, which is owned and run by Michael Hanrahan, has been trading in the area for five years and this is its first big win on the Lotto. It has also become the biggest ever jackpot win in the county.

The ticket, a €12.50 one with selected numbers as opposed to a quick pick, was sold by shop assistant Erin Dooley. The winner has not yet come forward to claim the prize but has 90 days to do so from the date of the win, so speculation is rife in the local area as to who the lucky winner, or winners, are.

However, while there was great excitement in the winning shop on Sunday, Mr. Hanrahan had taken a little bit of convincing on the previous night when he was contacted by Kieran Tuohy.

“I got the phone call at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night and I thought it was some of my friends playing a joke on me so I hung up on him! After that he sent me a few emails and texts and he had the right reference numbers.

“I did know that there was a new Lotto representative in the area so when I asked my father and some of the girls in the shop, I realised my mistake and had to ring him back to apologise!”

Mr. Hanrahan said that though he found out late on Saturday night, he was on a high and couldn’t quite believe that the shop had sold a winning ticket: “It was a complete shock. You’d never get calls like this. It’s hard to even think straight.”

The ticket was sold by shop assistant Erin Dooley and Mr. Hanrahan said that it was not her first connection to some good luck in the past few weeks. He explained that a few weeks ago, a lost wedding ring had been found by Ms. Dooley, in a crisp packet!

“Even Erin, who sold the ticket, can’t describe how she feels. She said she’s just so happy for whoever it is that’s won it. And there are plenty of people coming in looking for her to sell them their next ticket to see if she’ll pass on some of the luck!”

He added that it was a good news story for the local community, remarking that there was a constant trail of people in the shop on Sunday, all showing their delight at the news.

“I’ve shaken so many hands in the last few days – my phone is about to blow up as well! The place was packed on Sunday, it was like Christmas morning. There was plenty of jibing and joking between the locals but nobody knows who it is. We’d be hoping that it’s someone local.”

He added: “It’s been a great, exciting weekend and certainly one that I didn’t expect!”

This is the first jackpot win in Wexford since August of last year when Murphy’s Supervalu sold a €2.5m winning ticket. Prior to that, a syndicate of nurses from Wexford General Hospital shared in a win of €2.9m in December 2014.

The biggest win recorded in the county, prior to this one, was in October 2012 for a jackpot prize of €7.3 million. That ticket was sold in Lawless’s Shop, Boolavogue.