MRS Helen O'Donnell, wife of the former minister and MEP, Mr Tom O'Donnell, gave birth to an 8lb baby boy at Limerick Regional Hospital just before midnight on New Year's Eve. "With all the excitement we have not got around to talking about a name so far," said Mr O'Donnell (70). It is their first child.
Mr O'Donnell served as TD for Limerick East from 1961 until 1987 and was Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1973-1977. He was an MEP for Munster from 1979 to 1987.
The couple were married in Rome in 1984, when the then Ms Helen O'Connor was 23 and Mr O'Donnell was 58.