The late Victorian property's asking price has gone up by 450,000 euro in two years
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17 Oct 2025
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17 Oct 2025
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In a move that seemed almost too good to be true, a retired US lawyer living in Laois decided to raffle off his €800k home for €6 tickets.
The Durrow property was the talk of Laois, with thousands of tickets selling en masse.
However, as the required 225,000 tickets were not sold to make up the value of the property, the raffle instead gave one lucky ticket holder the chance to win half of the money raised through ticket sales- a whopping €137,590,10.
Pictured: The stunning Durrow Greystone Manor
Dublin based ticket holder Sreenish Shaji has bagged almost €140,000, for the price of a €6 ticket.
The Leinster Express / Laois Live can confirm that the family are 'over the moon', yet they do not wish to speak on the win.
Of the remaining 50% of the money raised through the €6 tickets, the raffle website Raffall took 10% of sales, with Mr O'Brien keeping 40%.
We spoke to property owner Sean O'Brien on the whirlwind raffle.
"I am really glad I gave it a try, I didn't know what to expect and there is a lot to it," Mr O'Brien explained.
"It requires making contacts with newspapers, TV stations and radio stations anywhere you can. You are selling yourself and your house, it's kind of hard work," he said.
"Without help, it is almost impossible to sell tickets. Also, trying to enlist the help of social media personalities. If they have a big audience it could really help. In my case, I didn't have contacts at any of these places," Mr O'Brien admitted.
Pictured: Greystone Manor
When asked whether he would consider selling the property, Mr O'Brien shared an exciting twist of events.
"I have learned a lot and a question I get a lot is, would I do it again? And my answer is, I might try again next year," he said.
"At least this time I would know what I'm doing. And my goal was to raffle my home and that didn't happen. I still want to move into the village. I just need to do better at getting the word out. I'm really happy for the family who won the money," Mr O'Brien finished.
To see photos of the €800k Durrow property that still has a chance to be yours, click here.
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