Munster star who lost baby daughter last year celebrates birth of son
A Munster rugby player and his wife who raised hundreds of thousands of euro for charity after they lost their baby girl Emmeline to a rare disorder have announced the birth of their son.
Billy Holland and his wife Lanlih have described the birth of their baby as "gift from Emmeline” on social media. They have called their son Matthew Conor Holland. Billy took to Twitter to say that he is so "so proud" of his wife.
Matthew Conor Holland, our gift from Emmeline. So proud of my wonderful wife Lanlih 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/YSYUuHk5EZ
— Billy Holland (@billyholland) March 15, 2020
Emmeline died from a rare disorder called Rubinstein Taybi syndrome in May last year.
The couple captured the heart of the nation when they went on the to tell their story. They set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Crumlin Hospital, Cork University Hospital (CUH) and Ronald McDonald House.
On their fundraising page, they paid tribute to doctors who supported them through their toughest times.
"They saw us go through the darkest of days, days that no family of a newborn should be faced with," they said.
"This was not about us as parents, this was about Emmeline and Emmeline's life. We wanted to live each day to the fullest, Emmeline deserved it.
"We never knew the community of support required for families of very sick children. We want to help other children like Emmeline."
Billy and Lanlih set a target of €100,000 to be split between Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin and the children’s ward in CUH as well as funding a room in the Ronald McDonald house - but raised €550,000.
