Is this Co Meath village the luckiest place in Ireland?

There is a phrase around the world that speaks of “the luck of the Irish”.

Perhaps within Ireland it should be narrowed down to “the luck of Duleek”.

Word has started to get around that it might be worth heading to the small village in Co Meath to buy a lottery ticket.

There have been two big winners in the last six months with the two winning tickets being sold within a few hundred years of each other.

Not bad for a village with a population of just 4,000.

Locals are convinced there must be something in the water.

Back in October, Seamus Lowthe sold a ticket in hi Londos store worth €8.9m.

Five months later, Shane Bowe sold the most recent winner – worth €3.9m – in his superstore and spoke about the excitement surging through the village.

He told the BBC: “On Monday there was lots of talk in the village then we got a phone call to say we had sold the winning ticket.

“The excitement was just phenomenal.

“All the papers are trying to say it’s the luckiest village in Ireland so everybody needs to go buy their tickets here.”

Amazingly, the two big wins are only the most recent additions to the Duleek lotto winning spree.

In 2019, Kathleen Sheridan was part of a Duleek syndicate that won €175m.

Kathleen is a Dubliner but didn’t get the big won until she moved to Duleek with her husband.

She isn’t the first lottery winner in the family. Her sister-in-law, also from Duleek, won €600k back in the 1980s.

Duleek locals are amazed by the good fortune of their fellow villagers.

Megan McManus and Brooke Errles are Duleek natives who have been away from the village for years as they travel across Europe.

Megan said: “Every time I come back someone’s won the lotto. It’s just a bit mad for such a small village for people winning the lotto.

“I’m going to start doing it.”

So why is Duleek so lucky?

Perhaps it could be something to do with St Patrick himself. Ireland’s patron Saint is said to have established a bishropic on the village.

Duleek is also said to have the first stone build church in Ireland.

The name Duleek comes from the Irish daimh liag.

Whatever the reason, if you are in Co Meath and decide you want to play the lottery, it could be worth the drive into the wonderful village of Duleek.

Good luck.

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