A SET of quadruplets from County Limerick are excitedly preparing for their first holy communion this weekend.
The four Slattery siblings were born in May 2014 to Grace and James Slattery from Caherconlish.
Childminder Grace has had to use all of her professional skills to cope with her four little darlings who are ‘raring to go’ for their big day on Saturday.
It’s been an expensive nine years, as Grace and James have to fork out for four of everything for quads, Amelia Helen, Mollie Rose, Lucas James and Lily Grace May.
“We got them new bikes last year. We found second-hand ones off the Facebook market place. Because they all need everything at the same time, it is always a challenge to try and find what we need for them,” Ms Slattery told local radio station Live 95.
Mr Slattery, who is known locally as “The Quadfather”, said they also sourced “four skateboards, three sets of roller blades… there’s 20 plus soccer balls, sliotars. It’s constant. They’ve a hurley and a helmet each”.
Washing clothes and making sure mouths are fed, are also a challenge, “especially with the cost of living at the moment”, said Ms Slattery, who suffered four heart-breaking miscarriages prior to the quads’ arrival nine year ago.
“I’m washing clothes everyday, probably two or three times a day, depending on what they have being wearing. If I miss a day I’m in big trouble the next day,” she said, laughing off the daily grind.
“Shoes are a big problem. Lucas has already gone through three pairs of school shoes that he has worn out already. So, yes, it’s endless. We are forever buying them things – coats, jackets etc.
“We do our big shop once a week, and then we probably have to do another quick run to the supermarket on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s constant, it never ends.
“We try to keep it to just what we need, and not do any splurges, so it’s probably near €200 a week but there’s not a massive amount in it, compared to what there would have been last year.”
And, are the quadruplets looking forward to their first holy communion?
“We’re really excited. Excited and a bit nervous.Not that excited…It’s just going to be like a normal day,” replied the four at once.
“We picked different dresses. If we picked the same, no one would know me and Mollie apart. Sometimes I like dressing the same as the others because then I can trick my friends into thinking I’m Mollie. People only think Mollie and me are twins and that the other two are strangers,” said Amelia.
People’s reactions are by now old hat for the four nine-year-olds, who retort: “Most of the time they don’t even know what quads mean. They’re not really that excited. They usually think we’re not quads.”
They prefer to dress differently most of the time, and as for their favourite part of the school day, they quickly reply: “PE”…“Lunch”…“Break-time”…“Art”…“Home-time”.
