Irish Family Finally Welcomes a Baby Girl After Over a Century of All Male Births
It seems an improbability, but the May family finally gets to welcome a baby girl after 117 years of all boy births. Saoirse Grace May was born on August 6 at Galway University Hospital in Galway, Ireland. That’s over a century of only baby boys. At every birth. No pink was able to be bought. No frilly dresses were worn, unless you count late 1800 to early 1900 picture wardrobes; they did make strange wardrobe choices for photos back then.
To put it more succinctly: 117 years with nothing but brothers. The shock that parents Laurence and Leanne May experienced at the pronouncement of a girl was very real. More so because they opted not to find out the gender of their baby. And why should they? It’s not like they had any reason to hope for a girl, at least not according to family history. Although they are ecstatic with their history making girl, the baby being healthy was all they really cared about.
May told the Irish Mirror, “There’s great excitement, everyone was delighted. We had great celebrations. It’s terrific because we’ve gone so long without a girl in the family.”
Dad, Laurence, said that both he and his father are only children. There is no one to call them uncle, and no one they can call niece or nephew. It’s a little easier to imagine how a century-long girl drought can strike a family when you consider single children households. Before Saorise, the last girl to be born into the family was Laurence’s great aunt, Anne, born in 1898. Oddly enough, she was sister to Laurence’s namesake, Laurence May, and was 1 of 4 girls (she also had 2 brothers).
The formula needs to be just right to amend the baby girl situation, or lack thereof, and it appears that these new parents have found it. While Laurence’s family clearly has no problem producing the male line, wife Leanne’s family has no shortage of girls. The Herald reports that she has 2 sisters, 1 brother and 3 nieces. Time will only tell if the fate of the female Mays will rest solely on baby girl Saorise’s shoulders, or if there are plenty more where that came from.
In other baby girl news, the Inquisitr reports that former President George W. Bush’s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, welcomed baby girl, Poppy Louise Hager, on July 31. Poppy is the second child for Jenna and husband Henry. The couple also have a 2-year-old daughter, Mila.
Girls seem to abound everywhere but Ballinrobe, Mayo, Ireland. Sending baby girl vibes your way, May family!
[Image via Independent.ie]
