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Woman searches for long-lost brother 09.09.14

by Linda McGrory

A WOMAN has appealed for help in tracing a long-lost brother who she believes was given up for adoption some decades ago.
Bernie Leacock (54), who has strong links with Donegal north east, has been told her half-sibling was about two years old when he was adopted.
He may now be aged in his 60s or 70s.
She believes he previously tried to find out about his biological background but was unsuccessful in his search.
Bernie only found out about his existence when she was 37 years old.
A Donegal relative shared some details after their mother died in her adopted Northern Ireland at the age of 74 in 1997.
Bernie, a North-based educational support worker, began searching for him soon afterwards.
However, she became sidelined with grief when one of her two sons became ill with leukaemia and died, aged 20, in 2002. She is now redoubling her efforts to find her lost relative.
Bernie Leacock, left, who is searching for her long-lost half-sibling and her also pictured as a young child.
She has been given his name but despite this has encountered "brick walls" in her search so far.
She is mindful of his privacy and only reveals that his first name begins with the letter 'L'.
She has also withheld Donegal family names, her own birth surname and specific geographical locations out of respect for the privacy of other relatives.
She knows little about the circumstances surrounding the adoption but surmises that her brother might well be a pensioner by now.
She understands he may also have contact with a town in Donegal north east not far from the isolated rural area where their mother was born.
"My mother had a son who was adopted when he was, I believe, two years old. I understand that when he was grown he sought information about her but was unsuccessful," she said. She hopes that her brother might see some family resemblances in the photographs she has supplied of herself and get in touch.
If you have any information you think might help Bernie, please contact her by email at bernie.leacock@btinternet.com .
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