Thomas McManus from Garrison, Co. Fermanagh has won €61,000 on last Saturdays (30th January 2016) National Lottery Winning Streak game show on RTE. Pictured here at the presentation of the winning cheques were from left: Sinead Kennedy, Winning Streak game show co-host; Roseanne Gallagher, the National Lottery ticket selling agent, Country Store and Post Office, Kiltyclogher, Co. Sligo ; Thomas McManus, the winning player; Declan Harrington, Head of Finance at the National Lottery who made the presentation; Marty Whelan, Winning Streak game show co-host; Aine Cullen, the National Lottery ticket selling agent, Country Store and Post Office, Kiltyclogher, Co. Sligo. Picture: Mac Innes Photography
THERE were celebrations in Garrison last weekend as one lucky local punter picked up a cool €61,000 on a well-known TV gameshow.
Thomas McManus from Barr of Drumgormly appeared on RTE’s ‘Winning Streak’ on Saturday evening, cheered on by a strong Garrison contingent including his wife Eileen and three children, Helena (35), Colm (28), Niall (27) and Kevin (26).
The farmer was chosen to appear on the programme after revealing three stars on a scratch card he bought at Pat McGriskin’s Country Store in Kiltyclogher, and sending it to be entered in the Winning Streak famous drum. Unfortunately, as there had been no Winning Streak show on RTE1 for three weeks before last Saturday night, Thomas didn’t have the usual experience of someone lucky enough to have their ticket pulled out.
As he explained: “The draw wasn’t on TV, and because the programme hadn’t been on for three weeks they put all the tickets in together so there were 50,000 tickets in the drum when mine was pulled out.
“So there was no one ringing me to say they’d heard my name being read out. I actually got a call from a man from RTE the previous Friday telling me. I didn’t believe him, I went back to bed! He phoned back again during the day and said he was being serious, so it was a hectic week then until the following Saturday.”
Thomas said he would buy scratch cards quite regularly, often gathering up three or four with three stars and sending them in together, but said he was still very shocked to have a ticket pulled out.
“I’d didn’t expect it at all,” he said. “I’ve never won anything before, I’ve always worked for everything.”
The former tug-of-war enthusiast, who worked on building sites for over 40 years before retiring to his farm, said he had no plans yet for his winnings but planned on giving some to his children.
“I’m not that interested in travelling,” he said. “I’ll maybe buy myself a wee car, and bits and pieces for about the house. I don’t want to get rid of all of it, though.”
Wife Eileen said it was “a great surprise” when they found out Thomas was going to be on the show, and said the group of 21 family, friends and neighbours who hired a local bus and travelled to Dublin to watch the show being recorded had “great craic.”
Thomas, who had travelled down earlier on Saturday with his son Niall, said: “Everyone had a wonderful day. We enjoyed the fun we had with Marty Whelan and Sinead Kennedy, and RTE really looked after us. They kept us entertained all day.”
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