It was just one second after midnight yesterday when Jake Mathews was the first baby to be born in the State in 2007.
The 3.2kg boy was born in the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street, to a delighted Sinéad and Peter Mathews from Ballinteer in Dublin.
He is their third child and, like most younger siblings, he took all the fuss in his stride. He snuggled into his blue blanket and gripped his mother's finger as photographers took his picture at the hospital yesterday.
Mary F Moore, the hospital's assistant director of midwifery and nursing, said the time of birth was accurate as there was a new digital clock in the delivery suite.
But in Cork, Anne Marie Heaphy's son James was hot on Jake's heels, arriving at one minute past midnight at St Finbarr's Hospital.
There was a brief flurry of excitement in the Coombe on Sunday night when an expectant mother was taken into the hospital at 11.40pm.
However, this baby didn't wait until midnight, and was born five minutes later.
The Coombe's first baby of 2007 was Matthew Brown, who was born to Angeline Brown at 12.40am.
In the Rotunda Hospital, Áine Kathleen Hoey took the mantle of first baby of the year when she was born at 2.58am to Maeve and Gerard Hoey from Dublin.
Mount Carmel Hospital's first baby of the year, however, arrived at a more leisurely pace.
Sheldon and Jennifer Conaty's baby boy made his appearance at 7.39am yesterday.
Limerick's first baby of the year arrived just after 6am yesterday morning.
Ann Custy, from Ennis, Co Clare, gave birth to a girl at 6.08am at the Regional Maternity Hospital there.
Megan Custy arrived one week after her due date.
"Ann went into labour on Saturday night but she was seven days over," said new father Declan Custy.
Megan is Ann and Declan's first child, and the father was determined not to miss the birth. "I didn't leave the hospital since Saturday because I was afraid I'd miss something," he said.