Every week we hear of a new story about someone winning vast amounts of money in the Euromillions draw. It doesn’t just make a person a millionaire – it practically puts them on the rich list and as such their story and success is normally reported all around Europe. However, the story of Margaret Loughrey is a little bit different to the normal winner’s tale.

Having won £27 million, unemployed Margaret Loughrey was in for a pretty massive lifestyle change but instead of spending the vast sum on herself, Margaret has opted to give away a whopping £26 million leaving just £1 million for herself. The 48 year old has already given as much as £13 million away to help the “needy” and also to reinvent the image of her local town Strabane and its inhabitants in order to bring in tourism and make it a more prosperous place for her fellow townsfolk.

The Euromillions is one of the most popular lotteries that people enter especially when they host their Superdraws which can offer as much as £200 million prizes. Currently, we are three months away from the next Superdraw and whilst it is unknown whether Margaret will still be playing the fortune changing game, she might well be in need of another win after all the plans she has for her town and for her other charitable causes. Needless to say £1 million is still a pretty hefty increase to anyone’s personal bank account, but the generosity of Margaret arguably makes her the lottery’s most charitable winner ever much to the delight, we presume, of her Strabane neighbours.

Before she landed the lucky post, Margaret was living on her benefits of just £58 per week. In an interview she stated that this was the main reason why she has decided to be so generous with her winnings. She said that she knew what it was like to have nothing and to struggle to find opportunities and so she wanted to make sure that everyone in her community was given a chance. It is unlikely that we will see someone from such poor circumstances be quite so generous with their good fortune again and so for now, Margaret is somewhat of an inspiration for the rest of us to look up to.