At about 7pm on Thursday 7 March 2002, I cradled my first child in my arms for the first time. She was wrapped in a cuddly shawl. She was around 12 minutes old and the nurse gently handed her to me. Her tiny face was pinched closed. Then she opened her bright blue eyes. I looked. She looked. And then she slowly shut them again.

Her eyes are perfect

I was waiting for that moment. She looked directly at me. “Her eyes are perfect,” I said quietly to myself. All any parent wants is a healthy child. I had a “lazy” eye when I was a baby. It was all that was really worrying me. I had little to worry about. She often jokes that when she opened her eyes and saw what was looking back at her, she thought: “OMG, state of him!”

She looks very like her father, but she might change

We named her Deirbhile and decided to pick the Irish spelling for no particular reason. One of her grandparents remarked: “She looks very like her father, but she might change.” Well she hasn’t. People comment how beautiful she is. But she still looks like me. How is that possible?

A few weeks ago, I met a couple expecting their first baby. They were a mix of excitement and anxiety

A new baby is a life changer. But she never gave us a moment’s trouble. She was literally reared on goat’s milk and I often think it’s why she was never sick and never missed a day in primary school with any routine ailments. We were blessed. A few weeks ago, I met a couple expecting their first baby. They were a mix of excitement and anxiety.

I told them as I always tell first-time parents to ignore the doomsayers with their withering negativity. “Oh, you’ll have to get used to sleepless nights.” What rubbish. I envy parents of newborns. It is the most wonderful time. I know it can be trying and not every young parent has happy memories of rearing a baby who is sick or in tough circumstances. That is why I count my blessings now looking back.

One of the best decisions I made was to avail of unpaid parental leave for four months

On the one hand, it is great to be at the stage of having two children healthy and happy in secondary school but on the other, the joy, innocence and wonder of your own toddler is a gift. And I was privileged to have experienced it. One of the best decisions I made was to avail of unpaid parental leave for four months.

It seems like only last week when I was giving Deirbhile night feeds and changing her nappy

We walked and we walked and we walked in the fresh air, morning, noon and night.

How time flies. It seems like only last week when I was giving Deirbhile night feeds and changing her nappy. I remember watching the 2002 world cup, the early morning kick offs whilst feeding her. And whenever I hear John Spillane’s Cherry Tree, it reminds me of that bright, happy, colourful summer as that song played and Deirbhile laughed.

That warm smile has never left her face

She walked on her first birthday. But the most beautiful moment for any parent is the day your baby first smiles at you. And that warm smile has never left her face. It says everything about her and the fine, funny and intelligent young woman she has turned out to be. She is a good runner like her mother but the running can wait until after the Leaving Cert in June.

Last Friday night, we celebrated Deirbhile’s 18th birthday with a lovely family meal. A friend remarked: “Your work is done.” I replied: “My work is only beginning!” Happy birthday Derv.

Paddy v Patrick

For a country that gets very tetchy at how we might be portrayed by outsiders for our Paddywhackery, we really don’t help ourselves when we casually refer to St Patrick’s Day as “Paddy’s Day”. I even hear respectable commentators and journalists talking about “Paddy’s Day”. It is called St Patrick’s Day.