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North Irish couple plan to share their £115m EuroMillions win with 50 people

The lucky pair's identities, Frances and Patrick Connolly were revealed at a press conference just outside Belfast on Friday

A couple from Northern Ireland have made a list of 50 people with whom they intend to share their £115m EuroMillions win. Frances and Patrick Connolly, who live in Moira, County Down, matched the winning numbers in the New Year's Day draw. It is the fourth biggest UK EuroMillions win and the biggest in NI.

The lucky pair's identities were revealed at a press conference just outside Belfast on Friday. Speaking to the media, Frances Connolly said the money will be shared between family, friends and charitable causes.

“This is a massive sum of money and we want it to have a huge impact on the lives of other people we know and love, as well as on our future too.”

The 52-year-old said the most important thing they have done since their win was to have made a list of people they want to give the money to.

“At the minute there are about 50 people,” she said, adding that most of those on the list do not yet know they are on it.

“It's going to be so much fun giving it away,” she said. “The pleasure for me is going to be seeing their faces.”

Her husband Patrick Connolly, 54, said: “I've got a wonderful wife, a wonderful family and wonderful friends, so this is the icing on the cake.

”Money doesn't bring you happiness. We already had happiness and were very blessed in life.“

Mr Connolly is a businessman who once ran his own firm. He predicted he would not be able to sit around long before he had to get back to doing something. He said his expertise was in manufacturing and he hoped to create more jobs using part of their fortune.

They said they were hard-working people who did not carry a lot of debt and did not indulge in luxuries before their win. ”We are quite level-headed people, we're not overly extravagant - yet,” said Mr Connolly.

The couple - who have three daughters and three grandchildren - are regular Lotto players but only normally buy tickets for EuroMillions when there is a big jackpot.

The pair live in a rented home and were previously considering a move to Croydon in March as Mr. Connolly had been offered a new job as an operations manager.

Mrs. Connolly, who had worked as an educational program coordinator, is planning to do a PhD in clinical psychology.

The winning numbers - 01, 08, 11, 25, 28, with Lucky Stars 04 and 06 - were selected at random, they said.