The National Lottery has released details of the anatomy of Irish winners in 2016, representing a profile of the average person to win big.

Over the course of 2016 the National Lottery has paid out over €200m to 103 players receiving prizes of €100,000 plus.

The biggest prize pay-out of the year was the whooping €66,188,316 from a quick pick ticket purchased in Carlow.

In terms of building a picture of who is winning, profile data reveals that almost seven in 10 winners were male in 2016, with seven in 10 also aged 45 or over.

The biggest representation of winners live in Dublin, with one in four declaring their professional status as 'driver'.

In terms of behaviours and attitudes, Irish winners are very grounded, the National Lottery says.

Image: National Lottery

On realising the win, four in 10 winners admitted their significant other was the first person they told - with one in five admitting they slept with the ticket under their pillow for safe keeping until they travelled to claim their prize.

When it came to celebrating, half of all winners (47.5%) wanted to simply share a pint with loved ones.

Though when it came to spending their prize pay-out on a holiday, the Caribbean was the top destination for almost half of all Irish winners (47%).

Commenting on the 2016 winner profile, National Lottery CEO Dermot Griffin said: "I have been very lucky to meet winners and present their cheques over a number of years and have always been struck by how grounded and down to earth Irish winners are as they process what are life transforming prize pay-outs.

"With the Lotto jackpot set to reach an estimated €10m this Wednesday, I look forward to welcoming many more winners in 2017."

The profile based on winners' data across flagship games - including Lotto, EuroMillions and DailyMillion.