Mother delivers baby at Dublin Tunnel exit, as HSE head watches

An ambulance crew managed to make an emergency delivery of a baby boy at the exit of the Dublin Tunnel this week in a feat that was witnessed by none other than their "boss of bosses" – HSE director-general Tony O'Brien.

Mr O'Brien was on a field trip with the Swords division of the National Ambulance Service when it received a call regarding a mother who had entered labour in the locality.

The woman was picked up sometime before 10am on Wednesday, but events escalated quicker than expected and the crew was forced to make a sudden stop directly outside the southbound bore of the tunnel – formerly known as the Dublin Port Tunnel – to make the delivery.

“It wasn’t in the tunnel itself. As you come out, we pulled in immediately to the side as there is no way to stop in the tunnel,” said advanced paramedic Georgina Flynn, who delivered the baby with colleague Brian O’Reilly.

Despite the presence of the HSE director-general watching, Ms Flynn was adamant nerves did not play a part in the operation, and training and instinct kicked in instead.

“You can’t afford to be nervous, you have to do your job. It was all hands on deck so everything went well,” she said.

Both the mother and her newborn baby are said to be doing well, and have since returned home from the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street.

Ms Flynn was back on ambulance duty when she spoke on Friday, but she hopes to meet mother and baby over the weekend.

She said she had been waiting for that particular type of call-out since she started in the service five years ago.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget it because it’s the first one. It’s a call I’ve always wanted to have and it’s taken five years to get it.”