Five of the little babies who made history as Ireland’s first set of sextuplets are all “happy, healthy and doing very well” following their release from hospital.

The five were discharged from Craigavon Area Hospital and are now being cared for by their parents at the family’s home at Dunamore near Cookstown.

Two of the babies were released earlier this month with the final three allowed home within the last week, according to the family’s publicist Max Clifford.

Parents Nuala and Austin Conway are said to be thrilled at the news.

Nuala made medical history when she gave birth to the four girls and two boys — Ursula, Austin, Shannon, Karla, Eoghan and Kerrie — five months ago.

The infants weighed between 1lb 7oz and 2lb 2oz when they were born within a five-minute period at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Unit on May 22.

Tragically one of the babies, Kerrie, died in July.

However the five surviving babies have made good progress since then, according to Mr Clifford.

“All five of the babies are home,” he told the Belfast Telegraph. “The final three came home last week and they are all doing very, very well.

“They are all happy and healthy, and Nuala and Austin are absolutely thrilled. They are delighted to have their babies home. It is obviously a big shock to both to have five babies to run around after, but they have received a lot of help and support from both sets of families.”

Local councillor Sean Clarke knows the Conway family .

“It will be a relief for the parents,” he said. “They were staying with the babies in hospital while also looking after the ones that had been released.

“It wasn’t easy but now they’ve got their family all together at last. Nuala and Austin will be kept busy but they have a big family circle who will be very supportive.”

Born 14 weeks premature, the babies were delivered by a 30-strong medical team.

Speaking at the time, Nuala revealed how she defied medical advice to abort some of her babies and lessen the risks associated with multiple pregnancies.

“We knew without discussion what we both wanted,” she said. “These babies are a wonderful gift from God. Whatever God laid out for our lives, we were taking it.”

Nuala also described how her home had felt “so empty” without her babies, adding how she had “fallen in love” with them.

The birth of sextuplets is rare, occurring in about one out of 4.5m pregnancies.