Eileen Macken, who grew up in an orphanage and always wanted to find her mother.
An 82-year-old woman who had been searching for her biological mother for 60 years finally reunited with her. Eileen Mackin grew up in Dublin and was raised in an orphanage. She knew nothing about her birth mother who gave her up for adoption during her childhood but she was determined to find her. Macken made an appeal to RTÉ's Liveline and asked for help to track her mother down. In an amazing twist of fate, with the help of a genealogist, she had managed to find her mother who was 103 years old and was living in Scotland, reports RTE.
Dublin woman, 82, reunited with 103-year-old mother after 60-year search – The Irish Sun https://t.co/NJDLwxG80F pic.twitter.com/gqqZdI6nJj
— Dublin Informer (@dublininformer) May 9, 2019
Mackin decided to "take the bull by the horns" after being given her mother's address and traveled to Scotland with some family members. According to Independent.ie, Mackin said, "I knocked on the door and a gentleman opened the door and I told him I was from Ireland and had found out my mum was here and could we come in to see her, and he said, 'Certainly.' We came in and, honestly, I haven't got over the acceptance that I got because I was thinking, 'This is terrible, what am I going to do?' But they accepted me and I had a great chat with my mother. I know she's my mum and I said it to her, 'You know, I'm your daughter', and she looked up at me and took my hand. We had a great chat. There was such a bond between the two of us, it was fantastic. She's such a kind lady and I said to my children, all my life I love this lady and I don't know who she is and that was exactly what I got when I went to her door."
Mackin went back on Joe Duffy’s Liveline to update him and his listeners on her reunion with her newfound mother. "When she saw me, I said to her, 'We're from Ireland' and she said, 'I was born in Ireland' and she was thrilled and she never let go of my hand. She put her arms around me. I was just so happy and I just wanted to get closure so everybody will know that all their hard work and prayers and kindness were answered." Her mother told her she also has two half-brothers who are in their 70s. Mackin is so grateful for the "three wonderful days" she spent getting to know her mother. She admitted that this time she found it difficult to leave her again and that she doesn't think she'll "come down out of the clouds" after making the trip to Scotland.
References:
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0509/1048468-eileen-macken/
Representational Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Richard Bailey
