On Friday, 21 August 2026, a EuroMillions Quick Pick was sold at Centra The Reeks on the Tralee Road in Killarney. The ticket carried the Ireland Only Raffle number I-VBD-36131, and by that night it was worth €1,005,000.
How a raffle number became €1,005,000
The National Lottery (Ireland, PLI — Premier Lotteries Ireland) runs an Ireland Only Raffle alongside every EuroMillions draw: ten players win €5,000 each on their own unique raffle number. What made Friday night different was the top-up. One of those ten had a further €1,000,000 added, taking that prize to €1,005,000.
EuroMillions itself is a single pan-European draw, with the same numbers falling everywhere. The Ireland Only Raffle is the layer decided for Irish players, which is how a ticket bought in a Killarney shop ended up carrying a prize of its own.
The National Lottery confirmed on 22 August that the winning ticket had been sold in Co. Kerry, and said the retail location would follow in the coming days. On 24 August it named the shop: Centra The Reeks, Reeks Gateway, Tralee Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry. The player had bought their Quick Pick on the day of the draw itself. The full results for that night's draw sit on the draw page.
The shop, and the search
The National Lottery said John Bowler, who owns Centra The Reeks, was thrilled to take the phone call. He told the operator he was delighted to have sold the ticket. He has had the shop for more than 20 years; it has sold good prizes in that time, but nothing on this scale. His other point is the one that matters most here: with locals and passing visitors at the counter all day, he reckons it could be almost anyone. He wished them every happiness.
Which is why the National Lottery's appeal has been aimed at a shop rather than at a person. Spokesperson Emma Monaghan urged anyone who bought a ticket at the Killarney shop on 21 August to go through it carefully, and said the ticket-holder should sign the back, store it somewhere safe, and get in touch with the Prize Claims team. The National Lottery gives that team's line as 1800 666 222, or [email protected] by email, with arrangements then made to collect the prize at Lottery HQ. Lottery prizes are not taxed in Ireland. That is the general position; the National Lottery is the place to confirm anything specific at claim. As of the operator's update on 24 August, the search was still on.
If you played EuroMillions in Ireland that Friday and the ticket is still sitting in a drawer, our ticket checker will settle the main numbers and Lucky Stars in a few seconds. The raffle number is a separate line the checker does not cover. That one you match by eye against the number the National Lottery published.
There is a particular quiet to a story caught at this stage. The draw is done and the prize is settled, but the win has not landed on anybody yet — it exists as a code on a slip of paper and a line in the operator's records. Everything else about it is still unwritten.
Worth keeping in proportion, though. Only one of that night's ten raffle numbers carried the extra €1,000,000. Where a ticket was bought changes nothing about that: draws are random and independent of one another, and a prize of this size stays a genuine long shot wherever you buy.
For now the win exists as two things — a raffle number, I-VBD-36131, and an amount, €1,005,000. The rest of it belongs to whoever gets around to checking.
If gambling has stopped feeling fun, free and confidential support is available day and night from GamblingCare.ie on 1800 936 725.
Always confirm winning numbers, prize amounts, and deadlines with the official operator before acting on a ticket — the operator's published results are the only ones that count.
Sources
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The National Lottery (Ireland), 22 August 2026 — Friday Night's €1,005,000 EuroMillions Ireland Only Raffle Won in Kerry
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The National Lottery (Ireland), 24 August 2026 — EuroMillions Excitement in Kerry as €1,005,000 Winning Ticket Sold at Centra The Reeks
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The Journal, 22 August 2026 — EuroMillions player in Co Kerry wins just over €1m
