EuroMillions winner goes into Hiding

Update2: On 30th September Gary McNamara, Dolores' son, his partner and child left their home in Castleroy after receiving a tip-off from the Gardai that there was a plot to kidnap them and hold them for ransom. Reports said that the kidnap plot emanated from a gang in the Munster region and were well advanced when the Gardai heard about them.

Update1: On 4th August Dolores came out of hiding from her refuge in a Cork hotel to claim her prize. At the presentation she enjoyed a celebratory glass of champagne and posed for the press but declined to comment on her win, preferring to issue a statement through her solicitor. At the same time, the man who was behind Ms McNamara in the queue for EuroMillions lottery tickets spoke of his heartache.

A mother-of-six from Ireland who scooped €115 million (around £77 million) in EuroMillions, making it one of the biggest lottery wins in history, was said to be in hiding from the media.

Dolores McNamara, a former chemist assistant, aged 50, fled the family home in County Limerick, Ireland, at the weekend after being besieged with media interest in her enormous win. She had been sitting in her local pub called the Track Bar at Garryowen on Friday night (29th July) when the winning numbers of the EuroMillions lottery appeared on the bar's TV.

One of her sons, Dean, aged 15, said: "When the numbers dropped mum fell in to a state of shock. It took a while for her friends to convince her she had won the jackpot, she couldn't believe it." Ms McNamara was said to have seemed numb for about 10 minutes before breaking into tears.

Dolores then went down to the local police station to hand over the ticket for safe-keeping until she could collect her prize after the Irish bank holiday. But police baulked at taking responsibility for it and a local bank manager was kicked out of his bed to put the precious ticket in a bank safe - in common with most lotteries, EuroMillions tickets are bearer instruments and belong to the person who has possession.

Last night, Ms McNamara had left her white terraced bungalow and gone into hiding. Neighbours said she was staying in a nearby hotel but others claimed she had flown out of the country.
- 1/8/05

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