Couple open dream restaurant after £1m lottery win

The couple won £1m in the National Lottery in 2017 and went on to open a restaurant

A couple who won a £1m Euromillions prize have said it allowed them to build a home and restaurant in St Lucia.

Bill and Cath Mullarkey came home from a holiday in St Lucia in 2017 to learn they had won, and decided to pursue their dream of moving from Coventry to the Caribbean island.

Mr Mullarkey, 64, said: "We feel so blessed. It has changed our life and the lives of other people that we've helped as well."

The couple played the lottery "many times" and dreamed of owning a restaurant in St Lucia, where they first met and holidayed frequently.

Returning from their trip in 2017, the couple were shocked to receive a message telling them that they were winners.

"I thought it must be something like, 'this could be you if you play tonight', but no, the lady said, 'congratulations, you're the proud winner of the EuroMillions, £1m,' and that was it," Mr Mullarkey said.

The couple met while they were on holiday in St Lucia

"It was life-changing, but it took time to sink in. Even for a day or two, it was surreal. I'm thinking maybe we'll get a call back saying it's a mistake, but no.

"When you see it's all signed, sealed, delivered and then that's reality when you see your bank account with zeros, wow."

Mr Mullarkey added: "We had got to that age in life where we thought it'd never be possible or we would be fortunate enough to think, 'where do we really want to settle down', and for me, it was a no brainer.

"We always thought of having our own place and ideally open our own little restaurant."

'Living our dream'

The couple had bought a plot of land a few minutes from the beach before their win, and they put their hefty new bank balance to use by building a house with mountain views, a swimming pool and a restaurant on the ground floor called Brigands Hideaway, which serves St Lucian food.

Mr Mullarkey said that while they missed "beautiful" Coventry, their lives had changed "for the better".

"We were happy before, but we are even happier now, knowing that we have this.

"What we're doing now is for ourselves and living our dream, doing our thing, which we dreamt of but never thought would be possible."