Oliver McGrath was in such a rush to be born on Monday morning that his parents barely had time to make it from their home in Wicklow to Dublin's Holles Street Hospital before his arrival.
But his haste to get here means he has now joined an exclusive club, with the price of membership being a four year wait before his first birthday.
Oliver was one of around 200 Irish children born on February 29th 2016 and at some point his parents Darina McGrath and Mark Wynne will have to explain to him that his actual birthday only happens every four years because it takes earth five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds more than its allotted 365 days to make it round the sun.
Of the more than seven billion people currently alive on the planet, less than five million share Oliver’s Leap Day birthday. Not many of them will have come as close as he did to being born on a motorway hard shoulder.
“We just made it, we left the house after 2am and it took us 35 minutes to get in,” said his 24-year-old mother. “He was born just over an hour after we arrived. I didn’t have time for any pain relief at all.”
Sleepy
His 25-year-old father, meanwhile, was by her bedside looking sleepy.
Despite the drama, and the sleep deprivation, the couple were looking pretty relaxed with Mark perking up considerably when a nurse came by to take an evening meal order.
“We’ve only had toast so far,” Darina said. “And he had more of it than I did.”
The couple's two-and-a-half year old daughter Flora May is at home waiting for them and their new arrival and both parents know their hands will be full for the foreseeable future.
“It’s not like we can sleep when he’s sleeping because we will have to keep her entertained,” Mark said.
“Well you will,” Darina responded quickly. “I’ve done all the hard work for the last nine months so you can have a few sleepless nights now.”
