Irish man celebrates new job, new baby and big lotto win in same week

Turns out good things really do come in threes!

An Irish man is celebrating a life-chasing week after he won €25,000 on a scratch card he bought after he found out his partner was pregnant. Dubliner Tom Smyth and his partner Lisa found out they were expecting a baby just days before the 29-year-old started a new job at his local SuperValu. And to celebrate their memorable week, the couple decided to pick up a €10 All Cash Spectacular at Quinn's Convenience Store at Poppintree Parade in Ballymun, only to walk away with a €25,000 prize. Tom went to National Lottery headquarters on Wednesday to pick up their winnings from the luck scratch card. He said:

"With the week we’ve both had, it still doesn’t feel real. "We’ve had a life-changing few days so we were feeling incredibly lucky as we bought the scratch card yesterday [Tuesday] evening. "We saw the €25,000 as we scratched but we assumed we must have made a mistake!”

The lucky couple are planning to spend their winnings getting ready for the arrival of their new child early next year. But there was one tricky part to the couple's big prize, as Tom - who began his new job on Monday - had to ring his boss and ask for time off to collect the sum. He added:

“I only started my new job on Monday so I had to make the difficult call to my boss to ask for time off today. "As soon as he heard that I had to visit the National Lottery, he was more than happy to give me a few hours off!”

Photos via McInnes Photography.