Holly’s gorgeous baby boy Max
PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Holly and Jeff with brand-new baby Max
NEW mum Holly Sweeney is set to introduce her baby to golf – and to his new buddy, her ex, Rory McIlroy, at this year’s Irish Open.
Speaking to the Irish Mail on Sunday for our Supermum supplement this week, Holly said she hoped to take Max to watch Rory in action at Royal County Down next month.
Rory popped in over Christmas to meet Max – and to give him his first pair of Nike runners. Now the six-month-old, who is destined to be a hockey and golf fan, is set to return the visit at the end of May.
‘Max saw Rory briefly over Christmas but we both run hectic schedules. We’re hopefully taking Max to his first golf tournament – the Irish Open – so they might bump into each other again then,’ she revealed.
Holly gave birth to her first child with her partner, Belfast Giants ice hockey star Jeff Mason, last September. And one of the first visitors to see the new arrival was her former beau, Rory, who brought a suitably sporty gift.
‘Brought my little buddy Max his first pair of Nikes last night! Great seeing you guys,’ Rory tweeted, demonstrating that he had made up with Holly.
As previously revealed in the MoS, Rory and Holly buried the hatchet in 2013, when they bumped into each other in a nightclub in Belfast.
Sources revealed that Rory expressed regret to Holly at the way in which their relationship had ended.
‘He and Holly met in a nightclub and were spotted chatting intently in the VIP area, where he expressed his regrets and they agreed to put the past behind them,’ said a source.
Holly, Jeff and Max are living together in a house in Belfast after Holly sold the city-centre apartment she bought in 2012.
Speaking of new dad Jeff, Holly described him as ‘hands-on’ and ‘amazing’.
‘Jeff’s teammates, who already have toddlers, love reminding him of the time he said in the showers, “I don’t think he’ll change my life too much.” He soon took that back.
‘I think the sleep deprivation was a massive shock in the beginning, but right from the get-go he’s been very hands-on. Now that I’ve gone back to work part time, he’s really been thrown in at the deep end but he’s doing a fantastic job being daddy day-care. I don’t say it too much, but he’s amazing.’