The atmosphere in the delivery room was "electric" as Veronica Cassidy gave birth to quintuplets - three boys and two girls - nine days ago, according to the staff at Dublin's Rotunda Hospital.

Delivering five babies at 25 weeks' gestation is a task that has to be organised with military precision. The staff of the Rotunda, which was organised into five specialist teams for the event, is delighted things went relatively smoothly.

This is, as the master of the Rotunda, Dr Peter McKenna, said, a good-news story.

While he and staff have taken the brunt of media interest in the birth of the quintuplets, he appears glad to do so.

"It's not a story about organ retention and it's not a story about a court case. It's something we are all celebrating and something that's good for the hospital," he said.

The Rotunda staff are working beyond what is technically the call of duty; most are working on days off and others have been recalled from annual leave to help with the five new arrivals. The smallest weighed just 600 grams at birth.

Ms Sheila Breen, neonatal clinical midwife manager, praised the staff for their dedication.

It is worth bearing in mind that around 20 babies are born at the Rotunda every day, and while not all are premature, all require high levels of care. The parents of the quins, Kevin and Veronica Cassidy, of Bridgetown, Co Wexford, are encouraged to visit them to begin bonding and to treat them all as "little individuals".

"They are all developing their own personalities and characteristics. Some are more active than others, and the ones that are off the ventilators are sucking away vigorously on little soothers," Ms Breen said.

Ms Angie Chong, senior registrar at the Rotunda, was on one of the five delivery teams on August 16th when the three boys and two girls were delivered by Caesarean section. "We were excited but also, in a way, cautious, because we didn't know what was going to happen. The atmosphere was, well, maybe `electric' sounds too much, but it was certainly exciting because most of us knew this was probably something we'd never see again in our lifetimes. It all went really, really smoothly. We are all very happy and very proud."

While the quins are not "out of the woods" yet, they are faring better than expected. As of yesterday Conor, the largest, was able to take his first quantity of breast milk. The team hopes to increase that quantity cautiously over the weekend. Amy, the smallest, was still on a ventilator, but her blood pressure was under control. Cian is also on ventilation and had a good, healthy colour yesterday despite a minor setback on Thursday. Rory is on 30 per cent oxygen and, like the others, is being fed intravenously. Dearbhail is on a ventilator and medication to control her blood pressure.

There is great joy in the Cassidy family and in Bridgetown. As for what awaits the quins when they leave the Rotunda - still at least a couple of months down the road - they will certainly never go short of attention. One day they may even have their own website, like the Guttensohn quintuplets of Alabama, born to Eric and Amy Guttensohn on August 8th, 1996.

The family's telephone answering machine greeting is a cacophony of little voices - Tanner, Taylor, Hunter, Parker and Mason - all happy, healthy boys.

Ms Guttensohn told The Irish Times yesterday she wished the Cassidys all the luck in the world. The days after the birth of her sons, at 29 weeks, were also anxious times, she said. When they finally came out of hospital, the family needed all the help they could get.

Milk formula companies and some nappy firms helped alleviate some of the financial burden. The quins got through 35 to 40 nappies a day.

"It was stressful, but you have to just step back and let people help and not be too proud. We wanted our boys to have everything," Ms Guttensohn said. They have also been given college scholarships for their children.

Ms Guttensohn said she and her husband, Eric, enjoyed some of the early media attention because they recognised quins were not an everyday phenomenon and people were curious about them. The quins, now at kindergarten, still attract a lot of attention. "I can sometimes see people staring and counting when we walk past, but overall we get a very positive reaction," their mother said.

For the Cassidys, the quins are their first children. Said Mr McKenna: "First, they had their first baby. Then it turned out to be five. And then they had to deal with all this attention.

"They are coping remarkably well, and if any parents were made to cope with such a situation, it was the Cassidys," he said.