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20th Apr 2015

Pregnant? Forget the baby manuals, says Maura Derrane ‘you might as well burn them’

“I never really appreciated what parenting meant"

Katie Mythen-Lynch

Television presenter Maura Derrane has opened up on motherhood, admitting she’d love a sibling for her son Cal, but feels she’s ‘too old’ for another baby.

Derrane, who hosts RTE’s Today show alongside Daithí O’Sé, gave birth to Cal last year at 43.

“I never really appreciated what parenting meant until I had Cal,” the presenter told The RTE Guide. “You can read all the books you want – forget it, you might as well burn them in the bonfire.

“Nothing can prepare you for another person that you’re totally responsible for. I think it’s brilliant, I love it, but it’s a juggling act.”

Describing Cal as a quiet child, Derrane joked: “I think the Lord looked upon me and took pity, ‘she’s over 40, I won’t give her a screamer.’”

Despite her hectic schedule, the presenter and her husband Fine Gael TD John Deasy have discussed the idea of a second baby:

“Now that he’s a bit older and I think about it, it would have been nice to have another child.” said the Galway native. “I mean I’m not going to, I’m too old.

“I can’t believe I never thought I had any free time before Cal. In fact I had loads of it. I don’t know what I did with myself…it could be my age as well, I’ve gone through life, I’ve lived and I feel confident in myself and where I’m going and that includes Cal.”

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