They’ve built kitchens, fixed leaking pipes, and wired homes, but today the local 'Jacks of All Trades' Syndicate hammered home their biggest job yet, claiming a €255,000 prize in the EuroMillions Ireland-Only Raffle.

The 11-strong crew of tradesmen travelled from corners of the North East of the country to Lottery HQ today, to collect their well-earned winnings. 

The syndicate, made up of builders, plumbers, electricians, and engineers, has been playing together for five years. The group has stuck to a simple system: one group chat, one EuroMillions ticket each, three lines with the Plus, and everyone keeping an eye on every ticket.

On this occasion, their winning Quick Pick ticket was purchased by head of the syndicate, Richard O’Brien, at Applegreen, Newfoundwell Road, Greenbatter, Drogheda, Co. Louth, on the day of the draw. That ticket held the all-important raffle number: I-SDL-14299.

Shortly after draw, one eagle-eyed member beat Richard to checking the tickets and sent a simple message to the group. “This is a winner!” Richard initially thought they’d bagged a modest €5,000.

“Then one of the lads said, ‘Check again, we’ve won a lot more than that. There’s a special raffle on.’ I thought he was pulling my leg… until I looked it up. That’s when I saw we’d won an extra €250,000!” said Richard.

“The phone was hopping with calls and texts for the rest of the night. It was madness but great excitement!” he added.

The next morning, Richard phoned the National Lottery Claims team to confirm the win. That evening, the group met up to sign the back of the winning ticket and celebrated their win together. 

Since then, the lads have been happily debating how to spend their handsome windfall. One’s buying a new couch for his partner (a very comfy investment), another is helping a family member save for a house, and the group chat is now full of holiday plans and chatter on sun destination.