DERMOT Finglas shook the hand yesterday of the honest shop assistant who returnedhis Lotto ticket and made him €350,000 richer.

The 35-year-old DJ from Drogheda, Co Louth, said the shock of winning was still "sinking in".

"I am still trying to work out how I feel but it is a good feeling," he said.

Thanks to CCTV images and the honesty of Tom Heavy, who works at McDonnell's Centra in the town, Dermot can now help his mum Maria fulfil her dream of having a holiday home in Tenerife.

"I will be able to give her a few bob now," said Dermot who lives with his mum and dad, Dermot Senior.

Yesterday the family were still getting over the shock of his win. They found out from Tom who, with his boss John Walsh, had checked the CCTV footage. They thought they knew the man caught by the camera and told Dermot's mother Maria.

"My Mam said a couple of people in the shop thought it was me and I was not to go there because my photograph was all over the shop."

It was only when he saw the CCTV images in yesterday's newspapers that he believed his luck, and he produced the blue top and super sized headphones that he was wearing at the time.

Dermot is a fan of the Bee Gees and was listening to them on his iPod through the headphones when he went to pay for his purchases and his quick pick ticket last Wednesday evening.

As he was about to pick up the ticket Tom handed him his change and he put that into his pocked and left the ticket behind.

He says his good fortune was down to the honesty of Tom -- the shop often prints out several quick picks that are ready to give to customers on Lotto draw days and this helps to cut down on queuing time.

To make sure the winning ticket was not put back in the quick pick bundle and accidently given to someone else Tom had the good sense to write 'Paid for: Tom' on it and put it to one side.

When he was told on Thursday that a ticket from the shop was the winner he knew it wasn't his and, with his boss John, focused on tracking down the real winner.

"The thing I find unbelievable is what Tom did," said Dermot. When Tom arrived at Dermot's door he told him, "Fair play to you, man -- you walked out and I came out after you, but you had headphones on ... " and the two men shared a laugh together.

Tom held the ticket for Dermot as he signed the back of it and made his plans to collect the winnings at the Lotto HQ buildings in Dublin tomorrow.

Dermot was let go by a local security firm last year and worked as a DJ and doing voice-overs for ads with Oasis FM radio in Tenerife until last Christmas when this too came to an end, thanks to to the downturn in the global economy. "Money is not important to me," he said. "I'm the type of guy to do the Lotto and not check the ticket! I normally only do it for me Mam -- and I just did it off the cuff last Wednesday.''

"It is not a huge amount of money -- like, say, a Dolores [McNamara] win -- but it is enough. It is enough for me," Dermot said with a grin.

- Elaine Keogh