81- year- old finds her mother, aged 104

An 81- year- old Irishwoman has met her 104- yearold mother f or t he f i rst time.

Eileen Macken said she had never been happier.

She grew up in the Bethany Home orphanage in Dublin and has spent most of her life looking for her birth mother.

A genealogist tracked her down in Scotland.

Ms Macken said: “Once I heard that, nothing would stop me trying to get to see her.” She recalled: “I went over to see her and she’s the most beautiful lady, lovely family, they gave me a great welcome.

“We came in and, honestly, I haven’t got over the acceptance that I got.

“They accepted me and I had a great chat with my mother.”

The Bethany mother and baby home in Dublin has been one of a number scrutinised by an Irish government- appointed Commission of Investigation.

Mother and baby homes were generally i nsti t utions where women who became pregnant outside marriage gave birth.

In the main, those babies were adopted. Bethany was run by Protestant clergy.

Ms Macken travelled to Scotland with her family to meet Elizabeth, who celebrates turning 104 today.

The mother- of- three also discovered after meeting her mother that she has two half- brothers.