Baby boom in the Faithful County as birth rates rocket

Offaly like the rest of the country is experiencing a baby boom with birth rates rising last year, according to a new report. Births to women in the Faithful County rose by 4% alone in 2008, hitting over 1,241, that's a whopping 24.8% more than in 2004. The high birth rates in Offaly are in line with national trends according to the CSO, with 75,065 births registered in 2008, the highest number of births recorded since 1896 when there were 75,332 babies born in the 26 counties. The Vital Statistics report published last Monday brings together data in relation to birth, deaths and marriage over the last twelve months. It shows 1,241 babies were born in Offaly last year, and of that total, 398 or 32% were to unmarried parents. Although the age of mothers is generally on the upward swing according to the figures, that's not the case with children born outside of wedlock as over 43% of them were born to women under the age of 25 and the average age of the unmarried first-time mother hit 25. Looking at the overall statistics, almost 30% of babies were born to mothers in the 30-34 age bracket in Offaly last year, in line with the county average of 30.6. Another 266 were born to mothers aged between 35-39, while at the other end of the scale there were 34 mothers under the age of 20 in Offaly during 2008. Although in line with the state average, the percentage of children born outside of the marriage in the Faithful County is below the rate for Leinster at 35%, and well down on 45% in Dublin city and 41% in Wexford. The lowest number of births outside of wedlock in the province was recorded in Kilkenny and Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown with 28% and 24% respectively last year. Interestingly, boys outnumbered girls last year in Offaly with the male of the species accounting for 646, as opposed to 595 females.