Show summary Hide summary
Tánaiste Simon Harris and his wife, Caoimhe Wade, have welcomed a baby girl, the couple confirmed on Friday. The birth arrives just days before Harris is due to present his first Budget as Minister for Finance, prompting a brief change to his public schedule.
Pre-Budget event cancelled for personal reasons
An appearance to launch the pre-Budget White Paper alongside the Minister for Public Expenditure was abruptly cancelled on Friday. Organisers said the change was for personal reasons, and the Tánaiste did not attend the planned press conference.
Kerry beach earns place on world’s best beaches list for 2026
M&S launches mince pies for customers who hate them in quirky Christmas range
It is understood Harris will take an unspecified period of paternity leave after delivering the Budget. Under current rules, fathers are entitled to two weeks’ statutory paternity leave.
Growing family and private life
Simon Harris and Caoimhe Wade, who married in Wicklow in July 2017, are now parents of three. Wade, a Wexford native, works as a clinical nurse specialist in paediatric palliative care.
The couple’s first child, Saoirse, was born in January 2018 and their son Cillian arrived in 2021. They have not announced a name for the newborn daughter.
Harris has spoken candidly about parenthood in media interviews, describing the way children develop personalities and the ordinary responsibilities that remain regardless of public office. As he told one interviewer, “With young kids, they don’t really care what your job is. You are still dad, and you still have to do your chores at home.”
Security concerns and online threats
Balancing family life with a high-profile political career has not been without difficulty for the Tánaiste. Earlier this year two people received prison sentences for threats made against him and his family.
Galway man Patrick Grealish was jailed for eight months, with four months suspended, after an online threat to kill or cause serious harm to Harris’s family. Separately, Dublin woman Sandra Barry, aged 40, received a six-month sentence for social media messages in which she labelled Harris a “murderer” and said, “I hope somebody does something to your family.”
Harris has described the volume and severity of the abuse as unprecedented for his household. Speaking to the Claire Byrne Show he criticised those who hide behind screens to issue threats and said such messages have a real, chilling effect at home: “The oxygen is sucked out of your home when you’re sitting there on a Friday evening, and you receive a credible threat to carry out very significant physical harm to your children.”
The family has asked for privacy as they begin life with their newest member, while the Tánaiste prepares to resume duties for the upcoming Budget. No further details about the newborn’s name or the length of Harris’s leave have been released.
