THE FIRST new arrival of 2018 was a baby boy.
The first baby of 2018 in Ireland was born at seven seconds past midnight last night, as champagne bottles popped across the country and Auld Lang Syne rang out from pubs and homes from county to county.
University Maternity Hospital, Limerick, had the pleasure of bringing the first baby of the year into world.
The baby boy was born at exactly seven seconds after 12 and weighed 3.26kg (7lbs 3oz).
The same hospital also delivered the first baby on Christmas Day, with a baby girl being born at 12.27am on Christmas morning.
The second new year baby was born in University Hospital Waterford at 23 minutes past midnight.
The third baby of the new year was delivered in Wexford at 12.30am.
There have been three babies born in the Limerick hospital so far in 2018.
“We’re all delighted here. It’s very good news,” a hospital spokesperson said.
“We had the new year’s baby and we also had the Christmas baby, so we’re all very happy here.”
Elsewhere, in homes and hospitals across the country, parents were welcoming their new children into the world on the first day of the year.
In the Rotunda in Dublin, the first newborn boy was delivered at 1.35am. There have been 12 babies born so far at the hospital this year, including one set of twins.
In the Coombe, the first baby was born at 1.41am.
A baby boy, he was born to mother and father Christine and Gareth O’Leary, from Firhouse in Dublin. The baby weighed in at 2.9kg (6lbs 4oz).
In total, five babies have been born in the Coombe this year.
There were similar arrivals at other hospitals all across Ireland this morning.
The first newborn arrived at Cork University Maternity Hospital after 3am.
