A COUPLE who founded a charity to bring the remains of loved ones to Ireland are the north's latest lottery winners.
Eithne and Colin Bell from Newry scooped £1 million - and now plan to splash out on premium Croke Park tickets and a sun room.
The well-known couple lost their 26-year-old son Kevin, in 2013, when he was knocked down by a car in New York.
They founded the Kevin Bell Repatriation trust, which helps the families of people who have died abroad.
The charity works to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families and makes the necessary arrangements to bring their loved ones back home to Ireland.
In 2016, the charity, which relies on fundraising and donations, helped almost 100 families. This was up on the previous year when it helped 80 families.
Speaking yesterday, 64-year-old Mr Bell said he and his wife were "calm" when they realised they had won following last Wednesday night's Euromillions draw.
The couple scooped their win after matching the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker raffle number.
"I checked the numbers and they were no good," said the grandfather.
"Then I looked at the wee code thing and I thought `that's familiar'. Eithne was sitting watching the news and I said `take a look at this, I think we have won a million pounds'."
Mr Bell said he then checked the lottery app on his phone and it "started singing and then it said `congratulations. You've won £1 million.
"We were so calm. There was no leaping and roaring or shouting and jumping."
Mr Bell said he would be splashing out on two 10-year Premium Level tickets for Croke Park while his 61-year-old wife would be getting a new sun room and the garden would be landscaped. He said Eithne would also be getting a new car.
Mr Bell added that the win would not affect the work of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.
"This is independent of the trust," he said.
"We are very proud that we are family run. Nobody gets a penny for what they are doing. This is Kevin's legacy.
"We have six surviving children and a million pounds was just unbelievable to win because we wouldn't want to win £80 million. We are delighted. It just means that the family is secure and the children are secure."
