Garda brings ‘new recruit’ into world after tense night

A ROUTINE patrol through a rural village became a matter of life and death when gardaí found themselves helping a distressed mum give birth to her baby girl.

There was a tense moment of silence on the hall floor of Damien and Niamh Longworth’s home in Daingean, Offaly as baby Mia came into the world in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

But then the infant gave cry — prompted a sigh of relief as well as tears for Garda Nicola Gleeson, who helped deliver the 7lb 9oz bundle of joy.

“Once she cried, I was happy — and I cried too,” said the Tipperary-born garda, whose only medical experience is in first aid.

Damien, 31, hadn’t expected events to move so quickly after Niamh, 28, felt her first pains at 10.30pm on Monday and told him there was no need to rush home from his truck-driving job.

After all Aaron, 6, and Finn, 14 months, had been the product of two-day labours.

So when his mother-in-law, Kathleen Coughlan, rang at 1.15am to say Niamh wouldn’t make it to the hospital, and an ambulance had been called, he was incredulous.

“I thought ‘what do you mean, she’s not going to make it?’ But when I arrived and saw her on the hall floor, I knew things were serious.”

Niamh’s brother flagged down a garda car that happened to be passing and Garda Gleeson and her colleague Kieran Trainor agreed to escort Damien and Niamh to hospital in Portlaoise.

But Niamh couldn’t be moved and the ambulance hadn’t arrived.

“Nicola just rolled up her sleeves and did whatever she had to do,” explained Garda Trainor.

She massaged Niamh’s legs, smoothed her hair — and only 15 minutes later, baby Mia arrived. Laois-Offaly ambulance staff assisted over the phone.

“My initial reaction was panic as the cord was wrapped around her neck. But when she cried, we knew everything was okay. It all happened pretty fast,” said Nicola.

The gardaí left when ambulance staff arrived to find Mia snuggled in her mother’s arms.

It wasn’t until Tullamore Superintendent John Moloney rang the hospital next day to check how “the new recruit” was doing, that the couple found out where Nicola was stationed.

Niamh says she couldn’t have managed without Nicola.

And they’re thrilled at Mia’s healthy birth, even if Damien, who had also been at the birth of his sons, had to go outside for fresh air just afterwards.