TWO WOMEN in Cork have made history by becoming the first same-sex female couple in Ireland to be legally recognised as the co-parents of a child from birth.
Geraldine Rea and Niamh O'Sullivan registered the birth of their twin girls this week with both of their names recorded as parents on the official birth certificates.
It marks the first time a couple has taken advantage of the Children and Family Relationship Act.
First introduced in May of 2020, the act allows for same-sex female couples to be legally recognised as the co-parents of their children.
In a major step towards progression in Ireland, the act means a birth mother and her partner and intending co-parent can register with the Registrar for the Births, Deaths and Marriages as the parents of a child born as a result of Donor Assisted Human Reproduction (DAHR).
The change took place while O’Sullivan and Rea were still dreaming of becoming parents.
Much has changed in the time since.
Twin daughters Réidín and Aoibhín came into the world in February after Rea became pregnant the previous summer via donor sperm treatment.
They had originally planned to have the frozen embryo transfer earlier in the year, however Covid-19 and the subsequent national lockdown forced them to reschedule.
O’Sullivan and Rea were fortunate though.
Within two days of Ireland’s lockdown restrictions being eased following the first wave, they were booked in at the Waterstone Clinic, one of the country's leading IVF clinic, in Cork.
The rest, as they say, is history and a monumental and historic step towards LGBT+ equality in Ireland with more same-sex female couples and families across the country set to follow suit.
See More: Cork, LGBTQ+, Same-sex Couple
