Rescue helicopter winchman delivers baby boy

A newborn boy owes his safe delivery to the Irish Coast Guard’s Sligo-based search and rescue helicopter crew, following an emergency medical evacuation from Donegal’s Arranmore island.

Irish Coast Guard winchman and paramedic Gary Robertson delivered the baby in the corridor of Letterkenny General Hospital, minutes after the helicopter touched down on Friday night.

The baby and his mother, Siobhán Lawlor, are reported to be in good health after the experience, which almost occurred in mid-air. It was her second child.

Irish Coast Guard Sligo helicopter winch operator John McCartney said the fact the crew were flying the newly leased Sikorsky S-92 was instrumental in arriving at hospital just in time.

“The new helicopter was 15 minutes faster than the old S-61 would have been,” Mr McCartney said yesterday.

Sligo took delivery of the second S-92 as part of a replacement fleet of five just a few weeks ago.

Ms Lawlor was experiencing contractions every five minutes when the alert was raised, and was waiting with relatives in a car when the rescue helicopter landed.

“The contractions were down to two minutes and her waters broke during the flight in, as we were assisting her with pain relief,” Mr McCartney said. The pilot and co-pilot for the mission were Brendan Jackman and Sean Redahan.

In 1996, a baby girl was successfully delivered by an Irish Coast Guard S-61 crew from Shannon in mid-air, when Aran island resident Mairéad Ní Fhlatharta went into labour between Inis Mór and University Hospital Galway.