This is the moment that two total strangers who could pass for identical twins came face to face for the first time . Niamh Geaney , a 26-year-old student and TV presenter , found her 29-year-old doppleganger after she teamed up with two friends to launch a project called Twin Strangers . The aim of the social media experiment was to see which of the three could find their closest lookalike within 28 days and it attracted submissions to their website 'twin-strangers.com from across the world . Scroll down for video . This is the moment that Niamh Geaney , right , met her doppleganger , Karen Branigan , left for the first time . They meet ! ' I was ridiculously nervous about how I would react to meeting someone who looks like me ' Niamh ( right ) said about Karen ( left ) Incredibly , Miss Geaney , of Dublin found Karen Branigan in just two weeks - just an hour away . After their first meeting she said : ‘ I was ridiculously nervous about how I would react to meeting someone who looks like me . 'For the duration of our encounter I pretty much stared at her . I couldn ’ t get over her face . ‘ And some of the expressions she would pull I would think to myself or say aloud , “ Oh my God that ’ s my face ” . I can ’ t remember the number of times I said “ this is so freaky ” . It was truly amazing . ‘ I would say Karen is the shyer of the two of us , ’ said Miss Geaney . ‘ But then you have to remember this was an even more surreal experience for her than it was for me . I ’ m the weirdo that contacted Karen and asked her to meet me. ’ Uncanny : Niamh Geaney , a 26-year-old student from Dublin ( left ) , found her 'twin stranger ' in Karen Branigan ( right ) , through a social media campaign she launched with friends . 'For the entire duration of our encounter I pretty much stared at her . I couldn ’ t get over her face , ' said Niamh ( left ) Miss Branigan , who is currently in between jobs , has five sisters and a brother . Miss Greaney has two sisters , and both girls agree that none of their siblings look anywhere near as similar to them as they do to one another . Since meeting , Miss Greaney and Miss Branigan - who are both single - say they 've been chatting on Facebook 'constantly ' . Karen ( right ) turned out to be a fellow Ireland native who lived just an hour down the road from Niamh ( left ) , making it easy for the pair to meet in real life and take some eerily twin-like photos together . She added , 'Some of the expressions she would pull I would think to myself or say aloud , `` Oh my God that ’ s my face '' ' While Miss Geaney appears to have beaten her fellow Twin Strangers participants , 21-year-old Harry and 22-year-old Terence , hands down , the search is n't over until April 27 . ' I think I have a two , maybe three at a push who resemble me . But they 're definitely not as close a match as Karen to Niamh , ' Harry English said . ' I 'm trailing further behind , ' admits Terence Manzanga . 'Must be a guy thing . They tend to be a bit too shy to participate . Not sure if being originally from sub-Saharan Africa has anything to do with it ! ' Niamh ( right ) said she and Karen ( left ) got on 'very well ' as they both applied make-up before the shoot , swapping beauty tips and marvelling at their similarities ( pictured ) Friends for life ? Since meeting , Niamh ( right ) and Karen ( left ) - who are both single - say they 've been chatting on Facebook 'constantly ' Feedback : Shocked reactions to Karen and Niamh 's story have flooded in from far and wide . Challenge : Niamh 's ( right ) fellow Twin Strangers participants , 21-year-old Harry ( left ) and 22-year-old Terence ( centre ) , are still looking for their doppelgängers , and the search is n't over until April 27 . Miss Geaney , who is still promoting the project across social media with Harry and Terence as interest spreads , says there will be no prize for the winner , just 'pride ' . They are inviting others from around the world to join in too now , by adding users ' photos to their Facebook album . 'There is a huge human curiosity element to it , ' She said . 'Can you imagine how surreal it would be to meet someone who looked exactly like you ? ' Only last month the Mail revealed how retired priest Neil Richardson was greeted with waves and ‘ hello John ’ greetings when he moved to Braintree , Essex , 18 months ago because residents mistook him for 74-year-old lookalike John Jemison .
Niamh Geaney , April 27 , found her doppelgänger through social media . Her lookalike , Karen Branigan , lives only a hour away in Ireland . The pair met in real life and although it was 'freaky ' , they got on very well . Both have sisters , and say they do n't look similar to either of them .