BY MICHAEL BRESLIN
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone Sinn Féin MP, Michelle Gildernew, the Agriculture Minister, gave birth to a baby girl in the Erne hospital on Friday, the third family member for Michelle and her husband, Jimmy Taggart (the Minister has kept her maiden name).
The baby has been named, Aoise Geraldine, 'Aoise' being an ancient name for Ireland. The couple's other two children are Emmet (6) and Eunan (3).
The new arrival, who weighed in at 7 lbs 12 ounces, came into the world in the early hours of Friday morning. Both mother and daughter were discharged from hospital mid-afternoon on that day.
Michelle becomes the first Northern Ireland MP to become pregnant in office since Bernadette Devlin, now Mrs McAliskey, in the early 1970's, and she is also the first government Minister in Ireland to give birth while in office.
Speaking from the hospital before departure, with her husband at her side, the 38-year MP said she was euphoric at the birth of her third child, but she added she wasn't sure if she would have any more children. She said her labour had lasted only an hour and she described the birth as, 'a fantastic experience'.
"I would have been happy with a boy or a girl, but a girl does complete our family. We had picked girls' names before for the two boys."
She revealed that Aoise Geraldine was born by water birth, and she paid tribute to the support she had received from her GP, community midwives, the staff at the Erne and the Sinn Féin leadership. When Gerry (Adams) asked me about becoming a Minister, I told him that I hadn't completed my family. He said that was fine. The Party have been very supportive. I am very fortunate that Sinn Féin offers opportunities to women of child-bearing age."
Ms Gildernew will now be on leave until shortly after Christmas, but she intended attending a Health Promotion Agency conference, to be held next month, on breast feeding. She also intends to take Aoise Geraldine with her to Brussels in December for EU fisheries talks.
In the shorter-term, she has other arrangements made: "I am going to take some time off. I'm going to need to spend some quality time with the baby."
She revealed she was still in contact with officials from DARD, and that she had a number of engagements she was committed to attending.
In other words, she would be taking things in her stride ('I just see it as getting on with my life'), and she said she had had great support from her husband, her family and her in-laws as part of a joint effort.
It was as a result of her suggestions to the then Speaker of the House (Assembly), John Alderice prior to the birth of her first child in 2002 that breast-feeding and baby-changing facilities were installed in Stormont building.
