Kilkenny camogie legend Anne Dalton says it was a relief when what she knew in her heart was also down on paper.
Anne and her wife Karen Kelly have four children, all conceived through IVF. The couple met while studying and playing camogie at WIT more than a decade ago. Karen, who played inter-county camogie with Waterford, carried all four children.
"When the first three kids (Tadhg and twins, Seán and Ada) were born, I wasn't able to be put down as a parent on their birth certs," Anne explains in her episode of TG4 series Laochra Gael which airs at 9:30pm on February 9th.
"Then legislation changed. With Cara, I could go on it straight away as her parent. With the three others, we had to apply for a court order to allow me request to be put on the birth cert as a parent.
"For me, a lot of it was about putting in protections for the kids because if anything happened to Karen, or if I had to bring them into hospital, not being on that birth cert - was it going to cause an issue? For both of us, our number one priority is the kids.
"It is a comfort for me, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. I was their mother, their parent, but on paper I wasn't. Now I am. That was nice."
"It probably wasn't real until Tadhg came, and then [...] there's a baby here!"
Anne Dalton agus a bean chéile Karen ag caint faoina dturas le IVF.
🥎 Laochra Gael
📅 Déardaoin/Thursday
⏰ 21:30
📺 @TG4TV@KilkennyCamogie @St_Lachtains#LaochraGaelpic.twitter.com/WeOtBReFyl— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 8, 2023
The two-time All-Ireland winner, one of camogie's greatest ever players, says she and Karen both know there are "going to be questions" from the children about their family situation.
"The main thing is just to be open, honest, and answer their questions honestly - the truth is the truth," she says.
"For us, the main thing is to give them a loving, supporting environment where they feel comfortable, and teach them that everyone is different, and every family dynamic is different."
Karen adds: "What we're saying at the moment is that 'You're in a family and you're loved. Yeah, it's a little bit different to your cousins but you're not the only one that has a family like this, and you're lucky to have two people that love you'."
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