Opinion

Joy over Bere Island windfall

The plot of the 1998 film Waking Ned involved a bizarre chain of events surrounding the search for a €7m lottery winner among the residents of a tiny Irish village with a population of 52.

It seemed like the kind of unlikely tale which could only be produced by a scriptwriter until it emerged yesterday that the hunt was on for the holder of a €500,000 jackpot ticket which had been sold to one of the 180 residents of Bere Island in Co Cork.

Life sometimes can imitate art, even though the eponymous hero of Waking Ned died suddenly while it is widely believed that his Bere Island counterpart, although yet to come forward, is very much alive.

However, regardless of the identity of the person who eventually claims the prize, there will be genuine delight that the money has gone to such a beautiful if isolated and under-resourced part of the country.