Mayo farmer wins €42,000 just weeks after hip replacement operation

A Mayo farmer didn’t let a recent hip operation get in the way of spinning the iconic Winning Streak wheel last Saturday.

Chris Tansey, from Swinford, is feeling spritely despite undergoing surgery to replace a hip in December. He said that the Winning Streak experience was an uplifting experience for him and his family – and winning a total of €42,000 on the National Lottery game show on RTÉ One last Saturday (February 9) should help with the recovery.

He revealed that his daughter, Corrina, gave him a gift of the lucky Winning Streak scratch card which landed him an appearance on the popular game show when he came out of hospital after his operation.

Chris, who was watching the show with his wife Irene and granddaughter Shauna when his name came out a fortnight ago, said he has been drowning in phone calls, good luck cards, letters, messages and good wishes, and he has been on cloud nine all week.

Married for 43 years, Chris has four adult children - Damien, Adrian, Nicola and Corrina - all of whom were in the Winning Streak studio on Saturday to cheer him on. He is also a proud granddad and several of his 12 grandchildren cheered him on from the audience.

A farmer who raises suckler calves, his two sons have been helping him on the farm since his surgery. Chris loves all types of sport and, as a big Mayo GAA fan, he remains hopeful of Sam Maguire coming back to the county.

He has no plans for his winnings yet and will wait for the dust to settle on his Winning Streak appearance before he begins thinking of how to spend it.

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games go back to good causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts and heritage. In total, more than €5.4 billion has been raised for good causes since the National Lottery was established 31 years ago. In 2018 alone, the National Lottery raised over €227 million for such causes.