IN THE MONEY
We won £115MILLION in the EuroMillions jackpot – here’s the first thing we did after our lives changed forever
A COUPLE who won £115million on the EuroMillions jackpot didn’t waste any time putting the money to good use.
Frances and Patrick Connolly won the eye-watering amount of £114.9m in January 2019, using a huge chunk of the cash to help others, including charitable causes and their friends and family.
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Their prize money made them the fourth biggest UK lottery winners in history.
The couple who have three daughters and three grandchildren, have given away more than half their winnings.
Frances, 56, recently revealed she had handed over £60m in her efforts to help others.
She said: "It's going to be so much fun giving it away. The pleasure for me is going to be seeing people's faces."
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Frances was knitting when she heard that they’d had a massive win and she told Sky News: "We stared at each other for about five minutes, stood up, gave each other a hug and I said I’ll go and put the kettle on, shall I?”
Once the reality of their win had sunk in, the retired teacher and businessman set about drawing up a list of 50 friends and family they wanted to make rich.
In one generous act, Frances stepped in and offered to buy her sister's home which she was about to lose following a divorce.
Frances previously said: “I’ve had more joy from changing lives than buying jewellery. I knew from the start that I’d never become part of the jet set.
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“Patrick joked for years that if we ever won the Lottery, he’d take away my mobile phone and never let me use the computer again because I’d give away the lot.
“The thing that makes me even happier is that every single person we gave money to has passed some of it on to other people.
“I can't think of a day since winning the Lottery that I haven't smiled."
Frances hasn't only just started being generous - with the dedicated do-gooder first volunteering for the St John Ambulance when she was nine.
She then went on to set up an Aids helpline during her time as a student in Belfast, before settling down in Hartlepool with Paddy.
After winning the EuroMillions jackpot she launched two of her own charitable foundations.
And one gala fundraiser she hosted for 250 guests raised a whopping £100,000 for one of her beloved organisations.
She admits they will now have to draw up a new charity budget after busting it for the next decade.
She explained: "We do a budget every year, and we're already on 2032's budget.
"We might have to revise that."
They have spent some of the money on themselves too.
The couple, who now live in a £1.9million five-bedroom home in the North East, splurged £60,000 on an electric Jaguar in their biggest spend.
Patrick is also looking to swap his Laguna for an Alfa Romeo.
He also wants to retire from his manufacturing job, shower his wife with gifts and take a trip to the Maldives.
Despite having a bank account stashed full of cash, Frances is still careful with money and admitted to still checking what she is paying for her gas and electric.
She told the : "The bank is full of money, but I still have a sensible attitude towards it.
"I look for a bargain everywhere I go and check the bank every month to see what I’m paying for gas and electric.
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"I’ve got a big jar with coppers and coins in it, it’s a whisky bottle, my dad gave it to me years ago. Every time it gets full, it goes to charity."
Following their big win in January 2019, their daughter Katrina Connolly, from Hartlepool, Co Durham, said she “isn't bothered” about getting her hands on any of their new-found fortune.
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