81-year-old Eileen Macken, of Ireland, has been looking for her birth mother for over 60 years.
With some help from a genealogist and RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, she has finally found her.
Eileen has never known her birth mother.he was raised in an orphanage, but she began searching for her at the age of 19.
Macken reached out to RTÉ's Liveline last year in an attempt to get assistance in her search. She was able to retain the services of a genealogist, who finally traced her mother to Scotland.
Eileen's mother, Elizabeth, is still alive. She is currently 104-years-old, and is living in her own home with her family.
She wanted to meet Elizabeth, but Eileen said her family were concerned about her traveling so far and just showing up uninvited.
Eileen told Liveline's Joe Duffy that she eventually decided that she had to just "take the bull by the horns" and take the trip.
She made the journey with her husband, daughter, and son-in-law.
When they arrived at the house and knocked on the door, a man answered.
"I told him I was from Ireland and that I had found my mum here and could we come in and see her, and he said 'certainly.'"
She spent some time talking with her mother, calling the encounter a "great chat."
"She was reading the newspaper when she saw me, I said we were from Ireland and she said 'I was born in Ireland.'"
Macken said that she told her mother that she was her daughter, but she didn't think it quite sunk in.
That didn't affect their bonding over conversation though,
"She was thrilled and she never let go of my hand."
Many on Twitter were extremely happy for Eileen.
Eileen's tale hit several right in the feels—many happy tears were shed.
Eileen told Liveline that she has been on cloud nine since she came home from her visit to Scotland.
"I don't think I'll ever come down out of the cloud."
Who can blame her? She had been searching for a lifetime and was finally reunited with her mother. A great deal of happiness seems appropriate.
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