Mothers’ joy as Santa makes special deliveries

SANTA’S sleigh had to compete for airspace with a particularly busy stork this Christmas.

Dozens of bundles of joy were delivered to mums, who got the most special present of all when their newborns made their December 25 entrance.

The first new arrival in the country, a girl born in Dublin, just held on to make sure Christmas will be a double celebration from now on, after she was elivered at four minutes past midnight.

Three minutes after baby Amy Chen's arrival at the Rotunda Hospital, another little Christmas belle was born at the nearby National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street.

Some of the earliest arrivals elsewhere in the country were in County Cork, where baby Jarrad Woods sent his mum Claire, from Doneraile, into a sudden Christmas Eve flight to St Finbarr's Maternity Hospital, where he made his first appearance just after 4am on Christmas Day.

By that time little Colm Looney had already enjoyed two hours of doting attention from delighted mum, Stella Maloney from Killarney, who gave birth in Tralee General Hospital at 1.55am.

Down the corridor, baby Caoimhe Riordan was more relaxed about the big day, making her leisurely appearance for mum, Nicola from Abbeyfeale, just before noon.

While some newborns were born on schedule, others made a surprise early appearance. However, according to tradition, there was nothing accidental about their timing.

Some old lore says babies born on Christmas Day are blessed with good fortune and psychic powers and this year's bunch must have foreseen the New Year's Day budget changes, which mean mums in labour will be charged 12.5%-15% more for a hospital bed.