Bulgers name new son after priest

DENISE and Ralph Bulger have named their new baby son Michael James, after the parish priest who supported them through their torment after their two-year-old son James was murdered.

The baby, Michael James Bulger, was born three weeks prematurely at Fazakerley Hospital in Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon, weighing 4lb 14oz. He was doing well yesterday, sleeping in a cot alongside his mother's bed. He was named after Father Michael O'Connell, who was parish priest at the Sacred Heart Church in Northwood, Kirkby, when two 10-year-old boys abducted and murdered James on 12 February.

Mrs Bulger's brother, Ray Matthews, said she was 'delighted' and added: 'She has been talking of how much he looks like James, and how small he is and how healthy he is. Our Christmas will be a happy one now.'