Irishman in isolation sees his new grandson for the first time – through a window

Irish granddad sees his grandson for the first time through a window

An elderly Irishman met his new grandson for the first time – but they had to look at each other through a window due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A highly poignant photo of baby Faolán being held by his father Míchéal beside a window so his own father could see the newest addition to the family was posted onto social media.

The picture was posted by Faolán’s aunt Emma who added the caption: “Three generations of social distancing as my dad meets his grandson for the first time.”

Irish granddad sees his grandson for the first time through a window

Twitter users loved the image and it has been liked nearly three quarters of a million times and shared nearly 100,000 times.

After the huge response to the first tweet, Aunt Emma returned to Twitter to provide an update to fans of baby Faolán.

Emma said: “Thanks everyone for your lovely messages! The good news is baby Faolán is doing great and oblivious to his new fame.

“Also Faolán is my nephew and it is my brother Míchéal holding him. His Mammy (whose name is also Emma) took the picture.

“My dad is also doing well and is completely oblivious to his new fame. He wouldn’t let me take a pic of him but he’s smiling!

“My brother lives about 2 minutes away from him so he went up to say hello. He knew he couldn’t come in. He is looking forward to holding the baby soon.”

The tweets drew several responses from users who are in a similar situation to Faolán’s family.

One person said: “Sadly we to will be in this situation soon. Our granddaughter is due this week. Prayers for your niece, her parents and Grandpa.”

Another added: “Congrats on your beautiful boy, my daughter likely be induced if no arrival between now and Monday, I will be doing similar, looking through window. Maybe for a few weeks. Once all is safe, it’s tolerable. Xx”

Other users sent their best wishes to the family, hoping it wouldn’t be long before they could all be together properly.

One said: “Hopefully it won’t be too long before he can hug him. You did the next best thing and I’m sure your Dad loved seeing him.”

Another added: “Its lovely, warm and heartbreaking all at once. My Mother lives with me, is over 90 years. She has some dementia but is aware of what’s happening. I’m scared and sad this will be all she knows for the rest of what is left of her life. We’re doing okay but she loved dining out.”

A third added: “I love the photo the look on your dads face breaks my heart. I pray this will all be over soon and he can rock that baby to sleep.”