Birr’s Postman Delivers Wife’s Baby
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Little Eireen Kirwan sleeps peacefully at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, blissfully unaware of the drama surrounding her birth. MT03790
Birr's well known Postman John Kirwan delivered the most precious package he has ever handled last week, when he successfully delivered his newborn daughter after his wife went into labour while the couple were rushing to the hospital.
John, who is still on a high while the gravity of his achievement sinks in, was forced to make the 'special delivery' last Saturday when his wife Lorraine turned to him while en-route to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe and demanded he stop the car immediately.
'The baby's head was already on show by the time I pulled up the car and started to help and the next minute she was in my hands,' John told the Tribune as he recalled jumping to his wife's assistance as she lay on the front seat of their Toyota Corolla car.
'We were taking the back-roads to get to the hospital as fast as possible from our home in Clareen and we had to pull up at the bad bend at Derrinlough. I called 999 and asked for help and I can't say enough good things about the paramedics and especially the lady who helped me on the phone.
'I never got her name, but she stayed on with me throughout the whole thing and helped keep me calm. She gave me instructions on what to do and she stayed on the phone with me until the paramedics arrived in the ambulance. I will be forever grateful to her,' John said.
'She told me to check the baby is breathing and what to check to make sure everything is ok. It happened so fast that there was no time for panic.'
John and Lorraine's new baby, whom they have named Eireen, arrived 12 days early and weighed five pounds. Once the paramedics arrived they took over from John and transported mother and child to the ambulance, where the umbilical cord was cut while John followed behind in the family car.
Remarkably, despite arriving so early and being immediately placed in an incubator when she arrived at the hospital, little Eireen has already progressed so well that she is now on the ward with Lorraine, where mother and child are reported to both be doing exceptionally well.
In the meantime, John has returned to delivering only the post and says he is very proud of his wife and daughter and is more than happy to stick to delivering letters and parcels in the future.
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