Seven bundles of joy arrive to delighted Co. Tipperary parents on New Year's Day

At least seven babies were born to parents from Co. Tipperary on New Year's Day - two in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and five in South Tipperary General Hospital.

Two bundles of joy arrived in University Hospital Limerick to delighted Tipperary parents, to ring in the New Year.

The first was a baby girl, born at 2.55am, weighing in at a very healthy 3.43 kilos. The baby girl’s parents hail from Newport, in west Tipperary. Proud Mum Margaret Phelan is pictured on our front page, holding her as-yet unnamed baby girl.

A baby boy was born about 11 hours later, at 1.41pm to Nenagh parents. He weighed 2.74 kilos. All in all, a spokeswoman said it was a “normal” season, with no complications.

University Hospital Limerick had the additional honour of delivering the first newborn baby of 2018 in the whole of Ireland, at seven seconds past midnight. The information for Christmas Day was not available.

Meanwhile, in South Tipperary General Hospital, there were five babies born on New Year’s Day, making it a busier than usual shift for the Maternity Ward. The first to arrive in Clonmel was baby Joseph, son of Josephine and Joseph Espiridion. Joseph weighed 3.8 kilos, and was born at 2.59am. Josephine was tended to by her work colleagues as she is a current staff member at Clonmel Hospital.

Full story in this week's Tipperary Star, page 2.