Lottery winner inspired by Dolly Parton gives away half of £115m winnings

A Lottery winner has given away half of her £115m winnings - citing country legend Dolly Parton as an "inspiration" for her philanthropy.

Frances Connolly set up a charitable trust to support good causes after winning the enormous EuroMillions jackpot with her husband Paddy in 2019.

Her father was a country and western music fan, with Parton - whose death last month sparked an outpouring of tributes - a favourite.

The Jolene singer gave away millions of dollars during her decades-spanning career.

Some of her most notable charitable acts included launching the Imagination Library which has sent millions of free books to children worldwide, and funding COVID-19 vaccine research.

After Parton's death, it was said she could have been a billionaire if she had not given so much of her wealth away.

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Reflecting on her decision to donate more than half of her winnings over the years, Mrs Connolly told the Press Association: "It depends on what you want in life. If your ambition is to be the richest person in the world and be influencing presidents, then you need to keep all your money, or you need to keep a lot of your money.

"But I don't know anybody who doesn't share something.

"I think it's in mankind to share when you get to a level where you've got enough."

She said that "enough" is a different level for everyone.

The mother-of-three, who was a social worker and teacher, added: "Maybe if we had been younger I'd have kept more, maybe you'd be a bit more nervous about how much you could give away, but unless I intended to live forever - I was 50-whatever when I won it - so even being generous, I was well over half-way through.

"So as long as the kids are sorted and they had enough to live comfortable, nice lives, I didn't see the point."

In honour of her 60th birthday, seven athletes will undertake a series of challenges to raise money for the Connollys' PFC Trust, which funds good causes in the north east of England.

The trust has funded loneliness projects and digital tech for older people, delivered emergency food parcels and bought respite caravans so young carers can take a break.

(c) Sky News 2026: Lottery winner inspired by Dolly Parton gives away half of £115m winnings