The parents of Ireland's first sextuplets were said to be devastated today after the smallest of their babies lost her fight for life.

Nuala and Vincent Conway, of Co Tyrone, were coming to terms with the death in hospital early today of two-month-old Kerrie Mae.

Her death came as a major shock because, despite weighing just under 1.5lb when she born 14 weeks prematurely with sisters Ursula, Shannon and Karla and brothers Austin and Eoghan, she was understood to have been making the best progress of the six.

She had been the first of the children transferred out of the intensive neonatal unit at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital.

However, she fell ill in Craigavon Area Hospital yesterday evening and was rushed back to the Royal, where she died just before 1.50am.

Her parents, from the small village of Dunamore near Cookstown, were called to the hospital to be with their daughter last night.

"They said they are absolutely devastated by what has happened," the family's publicist, Max Clifford, said tonight.

"We all just hope and pray now that the other five are going to be OK - that they will grow and get stronger."

Baby Kerrie was transferred from the Royal two weeks ago. She was followed soon afterwards by Austin, Shannon and Ursula.

Conceived naturally, during the pregnancy the Conways were told of the risks of proceeding with the multiple birth and were given the option of aborting some of the foetuses.

Mrs Conway said she and her husband never contemplated such a move.

"We knew without discussion what we both wanted," she said last month.

"These babies are a wonderful gift from God."

She told the Sunday Express newspaper: "Whatever God laid out for our lives, we were taking it."

The babies were delivered by Caesarean section on May 22. They weighed between 1lb 7oz and 2lb 2oz.