Dolores McNamara leaving the Irish National Lottery Headquarters in Dublin 20 years ago (Image: PA)
Winning the lottery is a dream held by many but previous winners have been sharing the unexpected downsides to it online. A recent thread has picked up on Reddit after a user asked: “Lottery winners what is the dark side of sudden wealth that nobody warns you about?”
Giving an honest answer, one person replied: “A lot of people don’t warn you that sudden money can ruin relationships, friends and family start treating you differently and not always in a good way. It also puts insane pressure on you to manage it perfectly and the stress can hit harder than the thrill of winning.”
A second said: “A lot of winners say the biggest mistake was not staying quiet early on, which is why understanding how lottery winners can remain anonymous after a win and what that process looks like matters more than people realize. The money can fix problems, but the attention can create brand-new ones if you don’t protect yourself early.”
This point may have hit home to Dolores McNamara who won a mammoth €115million on the EuroMillions 20 years ago. It made her the 58th richest person in Ireland at the time. She was in her local pub when she discovered the news — meaning word spread incredibly fast before she could get any control over the situation.
Life changed in an instant (Image: PA)
Mum-of-six Dolores used to be a part-time cleaner. Rather than being in the privacy of her own home, she was in the Track Bar in Limerick when she asked a pal: “Check that for me.”
It was a €2 lottery ticket and the EuroMillions draw was being made on the television.
It wasn’t long before an overwhelmed Dolores was left in floods of tears and a barmaid who was there said: “Then the drink started flowing and the champagne was poured and we had a great night celebrating. Dolores is a real nice woman and none of her friends believe this will change her drastically.”
The story was soon covered across the country and her solicitor released a statement saying: “She is absolutely determined that her feet and the feet of her family will remain firmly on the ground.”
Her EuroMillions win came 20 years ago (Image: Press Association)
Unsurprisingly, this proved difficult, and one of her most extravagant purchases was Lough Derg Hall, a stunning €1.75m property in Killaloe, County Clare. According to reports, the property, along with its breathtaking views, was once of interest to Robert De Niro.
Dolores also bought properties for her six children in the Limerick area but having unthinkable wealth brought dark consequences.
This included having 24/7 security at her home amid kidnapping threats. It was also reported that panic buttons were installed in her children’s homes in case something sinister ever happened.
One of her sons even had to flee his home in 2005 after authorities told him he was the target of a planned abduction from an infamous gang.
Dolores suffered her own personal troubles in 2015 after a road crash that resulted in her being awarded a settlement of €8,500 years later.
In more recent times, she suffered heartbreak after the death of her husband, Adrian, in 2021.
Lottery director Ray Bates congratulating Dolores after the record win (Image: PA)
Adrian was only in his 60s and the former bricklayer who invested in his own racecourse died after a short illness.
Dolores meanwhile is now in her mid-60s and the she tends to stay as private as possible.
Her only interview came with the Limerick Leader and the grandmother-of-nine said: “The question that has been asked of me most frequently was how I felt about my win and my answer is still the same — I feel disbelief and shock.
“Buying a ticket for that Euro jackpot was a spur of the moment decision. I’d actually gone into the shop to buy a top-up for my phone and just asked the lady for a Lotto ticket.”