A woman living in Dublin who has won a house in Co Mayo in a raffle has described her success as "a dream come true".
Michele Hallahan was given the keys to a 150-year-old cottage near Foxford this evening.
She was one of thousands of people who purchased a ticket as part of a fundraiser to support hospital workers, who have been helping doctors and nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two-bedroom property was donated by a couple who wish to remain anonymous. They wanted to show their gratitude to staff central to the smooth running of hospitals, like porters, cleaners and caterers.
Tickets for the draw were sold online for €10 each. After a slow start, interest in the raffle grew over the summer.
By the time the draw closed for entrants at the weekend, a total of 96,800 tickets had been sold, generating close to €1m for frontline workers.
Speaking after she took delivery of the keys to the cottage today, Ms Hallahan said she assumed she had no chance of winning the prize and had completely forgotten about the competition, until she got a call from Canadian media wanting to interview her about her win.
She said she planned to work remotely from the cottage in the coming weeks and that she would also be welcoming friends and relatives to her new residence.
The property sits on a three-quarter acre site, bordering the Yellow River. Ms Hallahan hopes to cultivate a vegetable patch and to encourage enhanced biodiversity on the grounds.
Work is now under way to find the most effective means of ensuring hospital workers around the country can benefit from the raffle proceeds.
Among the options under consideration are educational bursaries, assistance for the purchase of technological devices or providing financial support by means of trust funds.
