What A Difference A Day Makes: I found my mother and two brothers after 12 years of searching

For 12 years, Mark Balls, who’s based in Germany, searched for his biological mother. That search ended last summer in Fedamore, Co Limerick, when he finally met his mother – who had last seen him 54 years ago – and discovered that he has two brothers. He tells Helen O’Callaghan about a journey that has given him a great sense of belonging.

Mark Balls and his mum Phyllis.

My search for my biological mother started in 2012. I did an Internet search on a woman of her name who married in 1977. After that I got stuck. So my daughter gifted me a MyHeritage DNA test for my 50th birthday four years ago.

You do the test, wait for the results to be uploaded. You look at it straightaway, thinking all the answers will be there. I was checking it weekly for any new DNA connection. Not until last April did I find a close connection, a first cousin.