Lottery jackpot wins: Is Duleek the luckiest village in Ireland?

Duleek had a population of 4,219 people in the last census

What are the odds on two residents of a small, sleepy Irish village winning the lottery?

Pretty good, it seems.

The old saying goes that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice but it turns out it does in Duleek, County Meath.

Well, metaphorically at least.

There have been two Irish Lotto jackpot wins within the past six months, with both winning tickets sold within a few hundred metres of each other.

The latest lucky ticket - which won €3.9m (£3.4m) - was bought at Shane Bowe's Eurospar store.

He describes the big win as the "icing on the cake", having taken over the business last year.

The most recent winning ticket was sold in Shane Bowe's Eurospar store

"On Monday there was lots of talk in the village then we got a phone call to say we had sold the winning ticket," he says.

"The excitement was just phenomenal."

Mr Bowe, who employs 30 local people, says the latest win has created "the feel-good factor and the craic over the last couple of days".

"All the papers are trying to say it's the luckiest village in Ireland so everybody needs to go buy their tickets here," he adds.

Last October a winning ticket worth €8.9m (£7.8m) was purchased at Seamus Lowthe's Londis store.

Staff at Seamus Lowthe'sstore celebrate the big win last October

In 2019 Kathleen Sheridan, who is originally from north Dublin but lives in Duleek with her husband, was part of a winning family syndicate.

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They won €175m (£154m) from the EuroMillions in 2019 - the biggest pay-out in Irish National Lottery history.

Her Duleek-native sister-in-law also won £600,000 in the lottery in the late 1980s.

Something in the water?

In the village's coffee shop, which doubles as an off-licence, Aidan Coleman tells BBC News NI that locals are delighted about Duleek's new reputation as Ireland's luckiest village.

He says the historical village, which is home to about 4,000 people, has grown a lot in the past few years and people are very friendly.

Locals are delighted with the lotto success, says Aidan Coleman

Mr Coleman has also struck lucky over the years as part of a local syndicate that recently shared a €20,000 win among its 10 members.

"There's something in the water… we've had a lot of winners here," he adds.

"Anyone that has won it has been very practical with it, they haven't gone wild with it."

The first stone church in Ireland is believed to have been built in Duleek

Steeped in Irish history, Duleek is located a few kilometres from Newgrange - part of the Brú na Bóinne Unesco World Heritage Site.

The village takes its name from the Irish daimh liag, meaning house of stones, as it is believed the first stone church in Ireland was erected here.

St Patrick is said to have established a bishopric in the village around 450 AD, which he placed in the care of St Cianán.

In April 1014 the bodies of the former High King of Ireland Brian Borù and his son are believed to have lain in state before being transferred to County Armagh for burial.

The ruins of St Mary's Abbey medieval monastery, built in the 12th Century, are listed as a national monument of importance.

But more recently it's been the lottery wins that have garnered a lot of Duleek's attention.

Brooke and Megan have returned home to hear, yet again, there's been a big winner

Megan McManus and Brooke Errles have returned to Duleek to visit family, having spent the past few years travelling across Greece, France, Spain and Italy.

"Every time I come back someone's won the lotto," says Megan.

"It's just a bit mad for such a small village for people winning the lotto.

"I'm going to start doing it."

A full fridge and friends

As much as they'd welcome a lottery win, both agree there are other ways to define what being lucky means.

"Having things going your way I suppose, having a full fridge, good friends around, good parties," adds Brooke.

Anne Campbell says there's been plenty of discussion about who the latest winner is

The winner of this latest jackpot has yet to make themselves known, although speculation is rife.

"There's talk… it was the same last time, you always hear talk," says Anne Campbell, who works in the village's bar and restaurant.

"I actually did [the lottery] on Saturday and got a shock on Monday morning.

"I won eight euros so it wasn't me."