A taxi driver has revealed his 'total shock' after his daughter gave birth in the back of his own car on Monday morning.
Declan Scully from Kilbarrack, north Dublin was en route to Holles Street with his expecting daughter Stacey Whelan, when she delivered a baby girl in the back of his taxi.
The Dublin dad took immediate action and started driving Stacey and her partner Steve towards The National Maternity Hospital.
The story first broke on 98fm yesterday, when Declan Scully explained how Stacey ended up giving birth in the back of his car as he battled through Dublin's rush hour traffic.
Declan had been in bed after working a night shift on Monday morning when his wife Joanne called to say that their daughter had gone into labour with their second grandchild.
Speaking to Independent.ie, Declan said: "I had just woke up so I didn’t know what was going on.
“Stacey was leaning over the radiator and screaming, but I thought it was just another false flag.
“When we got to Fairview, she said she needed to push. I didn’t think anything of it and said, ‘Love, go ahead and push’.
“I then got to Connolly and there was about five buses in front of me and I couldn’t get past them.
“I then rang emergency services and the man on the phone kept telling me, ‘Don’t let her go to the bathroom’ when I told him I was at Connolly station. I said, ‘She’s in the back of my car’.”
An ambulance was dispatched to meet their car, but Steve knew it was going to be too late when he saw the baby's head.
He joked: “I knew then that I had to break a few red lights - and I’ve always wanted to do that.
“In fairness, the traffic was very good in letting me through. I was beeping and everyone stopped and let me by.”
After eventually reaching the hospital, Mr Scully ran inside to get assistance for his daughter, however, baby Bella-Mae had been born before he returned to his car.
He said: “Steve called me after and said ‘Declan, the baby is on the back seat’. "
Declan thanked the staff at Holles Street for their help during the ordeal.
He added: "Mother and baby are in perfect form, thank god.
“I was getting very worried on the way to the hospital because when we started seeing the head, the ambulance man was telling me to be ready to cut the cord with my shoelace,” he added.
“I got to give the baby her first bottle.
“I’m still in total shock and I haven’t really realised what happened. I lay down to sleep last night and I kept waking up and thinking, ‘Did Stacey really have her baby?’”.
