Co Mayo Player Wins €11.1 Million in Irish Lotto as More Information is Released
Wednesday’s Irish Lotto drawing saw a significant win of £11.1 million, and we now know where the winning ticket was sold. After matching all six numbers and the bonus ball in Irish Lotto on Wednesday 25th February, the (as yet) anonymous jackpot winner woke up to a staggering prize.
What We Know
This particular jackpot win is significant on multiple counts. Firstly, it is the first Irish Lotto jackpot win of 2026 (in Ireland, anyway). Nobody won the second prize, and only 14 players managed to match five numbers, making this random victory even more impressive, and leaving the County Mayo ‘buzzing’.
While we know nothing about the winner, and may never find out due to many Ireland-based winners choosing to remain anonymous, there are a few facts we do know.
Firstly, the winner has already made contact with National Lottery headquarters in Dublin. That means no fretting over the 90-day period! Lottery prizes are valid in Ireland for 90 days after the date of drawings, and then they expire. Given that the claim has been made, it’s likely that arrangements are currently being made for the winner to visit the headquarters to collect their prize officially.
We also know that the ticket was a Quick Pick purchased on the day of the draw, showing the value of random choice.
Lastly, the winning ticket was sold at Kelly’s Mace at the Circle K service station on the Mulranny Road in Newport, County Mayo. The shop’s owner, Michael Kelly, has apparently ‘no idea’ who the winner is. The shop serves as a local base, but also gets visited by many people who are passing through. So, the winner could have been any one of them.
Mr. Kelly described his reaction as one of shock. The lottery official that contacted him reportedly forewarned him when they called. "I've news for you, and I hope you're sitting down". Kelly says the news is still sinking in and that there wasn’t much sleep the night after he found out. He extended his best to the winner, wishing them “the very best with their win”.
Draw Information
The winning numbers of the draw were 19, 20, 22, 25, 28 and 43, with a Bonus Ball of 1. Overall, more than 29,000 lottery players won money in the different prize tiers. The Lotto Plus game ensured that many more prizes were paid out across the Emerald Isle. You can go to our prize breakdown page to find out how many winners there were for each prize tier in the main game, Plus 1 game, and Plus 2 game.
A spokesperson for the Irish Lottery, Emma Monaghan, says that Mayo will be “absolutely buzzing today! One Lotto player has scooped an incredible €11,101,286, officially becoming our first Lotto Jackpot winner of 2026.
"It’s a fantastic moment for the county, and with over 82,000 players winning prizes in the Lotto and Lotto Plus draws last night, celebrations are happening right across the country. We’re over the moon for our jackpot winner and are urging everyone in Mayo to check their tickets – it could be you!”
On that score, you can only win if you take part. It's very simple to do — just pick six numbers to match as many as you can, and let the sands of randomness and luck do the rest.
Written by Max Watt, 27th February 2026
