Congratulations are in order for Laurita Blewitt and Joe Brolly who have welcomed a baby girl together. The radio host who is known for his outspoken manner had nothing but sweet words to share as he gushed about the latest edition to the family describing the birth of his little girl as 'as close to paradise as any human being can get.' Their new arrival is his first child with his second wife, podcaster Laurita whom he married in Mayo in 2022 but he also has five children from his first marriage. While mum and daughter are both thankfully doing well now, Joe revealed that their baby was born by 'emergency' delivery at the weekend.

Speaking on his Free State podcast he admitted that he found the birth of their baby 'very overwhelming' but was overcome with a sense of peace when he met his daughter. 'You can savour it. I'm in the middle of a trial so I'm dashing back and forth. But if you sit there with the baby in your arms for three or four hours and it's as close to paradise I think as a human being can get.'

'If you are in the right situation, with the right person, it's something that takes you out of yourself and gives you a sense of peace and joy that is hard to communicate with anyone who hasn't had that,' the barrister told co-host Dion Fanning.

Delving into the emergency labour he continued to say 'at one point it got very scary and became an emergency and they couldn't get the baby out. It was a huge collection of doctors and anaesthetists then in the theatre.' He confessed that his response to the drama was in keeping with character but missed the mark with his other half. 'Whenever I went in, it looked like the first scene of childbirth - the musical, and me being me, the fear and all that, I cracked a joke which went down like a lead balloon obviously at that stage.'

'It's a funny thing. When it all turned out well, they are both bruised and battered, it's as if it never happened. We are very good at putting traumas behind us.' Joe was determined not to well up on air but said he found the experience 'very overwhelming.'

The Birth of a Daughter

The former GAA star and pundit married podcaster Laurita two years ago and over the weekend became parents to a daughter. Joe opened up about his new arrival on the Free State podcast, explaining it was an emergency birth but his wife and newborn baby are doing well. He described holding his daughter for the first time was "as close to paradise as any human being can get".

"But you sit there with the baby in your arms for three or four hours and it is as close to paradise I think as a human being can get. If you are in the right situation, with the right person," he said. "It's something that takes you out of yourself and gives you a sense of peace and joy that is hard to communicate with anyone who hasn't had that."

"At one point it got very scary and became an emergency and they couldn't get the baby out. It was a huge collection of doctors and anaesthetists then in the theatre," Joe added.

"Whenever I went in, it looked like the first scene of childbirth - the musical, and me being me, the fear and all that, I cracked a joke which went down like a lead balloon obviously at that stage.

"It's a funny thing. When it all turned out well, they are both bruised and battered, it's as if it never happened. We are very good at putting traumas behind us.

"I still haven't burst out crying yet and I'm not going to on this podcast but it's all very overwhelming. I think also now because I'm older now and have seen a lot of the world, you are able better to roll with it."

A Family Affair

Joe and Laurita tied the knot in 2022 in front of 100 family and friends at the Ice House Hotel in Ballina, Mayo. The RTE pundit is also a dad to five children from his first marriage. Laurita Blewitt is a relative of US president Joe Biden.

From Emergency to Paradise

Brolly, 55, told the podcast of the worry and then wonder of the new arrival. "You can savour it. I'm in the middle of a trial so I'm dashing back and forth. But you sit there with the baby in your arms for three or four hours and it is as close to paradise I think as a human being can get. If you are in the right situation, with the right person," he said. "It's something that takes you out of yourself and gives you a sense of peace and joy that is hard to communicate with anyone who hasn't had that.

"As these things are when you have control over them.. at one point it got very scary and became an emergency and they couldn't get the baby out. It was a huge collection of doctors and anaethitists then in the theatre," added the Dungiven man. "Whenever I went in, it looked like the first scene of childbrith - the musical, and me being me, the fear and all that, I cracked a joke which went down like a lead balloon obviously at that stage.

"It's a funny thing. When it all turned out well, they are both bruised and battered, it's as if it never happened. We are very good at putting traumas behind us. I still haven't burst out crying yet and I'm not going to on this podcast but it's all very overwhelming. I think also now because I'm older now and have seen a lot of the world, you are able better to roll with it."