24 November 2018
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Entertainment News
A Cork coffee shop owner is hoping to brew up a storm when she appears on the National Lottery Winning Streak gameshow on RTÉ One this evening.
Aileen Hart from Clonakilty, Co Cork, received Winning Streak scratch cards in her birthday card from her husband, Tony. One had the three stars and was the lucky ticket to her upcoming Winning Streak appearance this weekend!
TV personalities Marty Whelan and Cork-born Sinead Kennedy present Europe’s longest running TV Gameshow, Winning Streak, on RTÉ One on Saturdays. Pic: Mac Innes Photography.
Aileen admits that playing scratch cards is a once a year thing for her so getting to appear on Winning Streak is incredible proving that “If you’re not in you can’t win!.”
Married to Tony for over 20 years the couple met in Dublin where Aileen was working at the time. Tony is from Dundrum, and the couple moved back to Clonakilty to run Hart’s Coffee Shop in the town. They have two children, both with famous names: Marty (like the presenter, Marty Whelan) and Peter (O’Mahony – same as the Munster Rugby hero) and the lads are really looking forward to cheering their mum on from the audience this weekend. They will be joined by relatives from Cork and Dublin, from Tony’s side of the family.
Aileen is Clonakilty born and bred and runs the coffee shop on the same property as the family home. The shop has been in her family for years – her parents ran it at one stage as a grocery store and later a wool shop. It has been a coffee shop for the past twenty years, when Aileen and Tony took it over from Aileen’s mother Betty – a huge Winning Streak fan!
With her winnings from the show Aileen says she will put it towards refurbishment for the house and she might even stretch to a new car depending on how she fares.
The National Lottery game show, co-presented by Marty Whelan and Sinead Kennedy, will feature some perennial favourite games as well but also brand new games including Play or Pay, Roll for Riches, WinFall and Electric Dream – where one player will win an electric car worth €25,000.
As ever one of the lucky five players will get the chance to spin the wheel and win up to €500,000. But this series a €100,000 segment will be added to the iconic Grand Prize Wheel every show if less than that was won in the previous show, improving players chances to win a massive prize. Winning Streak will air on RTÉ One at 8:20pm this Saturday.
The popular gameshow first appeared on our screens in September 1990 and since then a massive 5,975 people have taken part, winning in excess of €170 million in prizes. Almost €5 million was won last season. Winning Streak is the second longest running game show in Europe.
