Euromillions winner gave relatives £1m each and neighbours £5,000 before she lost her life
“Maggie Millions” won the £27million jackpot eight years ago and had previously said the money had “destroyed her”.
After her win, she gifted family members £1million – and even handed out £5,000 each to neighbours on her council estate in Strabane, Northern Ireland.
She invested in a property empire, spending cash on a bungalow, a pub and a former mill-turned-leisure centre.
But the jackpot caused her life to spiral. She was sectioned just months after the draw, and in 2015 carried out 150 hours of community service after assaulting a taxi driver.
Three years later, she had to pay £30,000 to a former employee for bullying and firing him on a “vindictive whim”.
Ms Loughrey later said she regretted buying the ticket.
“I regret winning the lottery. Of course I do,” she said.
The 56-year-old bought the ticket while walking back to her bungalow in Strabane, Northern Ireland, from the Job Centre where she was living on benefits of just £58-a-week.
She later gifted family members £1million each and generously gave neighbours on her council estate £5,000.
Paul Gallagher, a neighbour and local councillor, told the Belfast Telegraph had just renovated a derelict house nicknamed “the barn” into her dream home complete with a “round tin roof”.
He added: “She had been living in a bungalow next to it and the barn was just finished, I believe. It’s a pity she didn’t get to enjoy her new home.”
In 2019, she claimed she only had £5million left and said winning the jackpot had “destroyed” her life.
“Margaret would have been well thought of… she has had her ups and downs in life like all of us but hopefully she’s at rest now.”
Source:mirror.co.uk, thesun.co.uk
