text: When two complete strangers living just an hour apart in Ireland discovered they looked so alike they could be identical twins this week, the world was shocked. But unlikely as it may seem, Niamh Geaney, 26, and Karen Branigan, 29, aren't the only pair to have found their real-life doppelgängers, either by mistake or after a social media hunt. Now three similar British cases have been revealed; a London-based journalist who found hers in Birmingham, two male university students, also in London, and two retired men in Essex. Scroll down for video . What are the odds? Just last month, retired priest Neil Richardson, 69, (right) moved to Braintree in Essex to be confronted with his doppelgänger, former head teacher John Jemison, 74, (left) Uncanny: Niamh Geaney, a 26-year-old TV presenter from Dublin (left), found her 'twin stranger' last week in Karen Branigan (right), through a social media campaign she launched with friends . Just last month, retired priest Neil Richardson, 69, moved to Braintree and was surprised to greeted with waves and 'hello John' greetings wherever he went. 'John' turned out to be John Jemison, a 74-year-old former head teacher who was well-known to the town, and just so happened to look exactly like Mr Richardson. Upon meeting, the pair, who are both grandfathers-of-four now living just 150 yards apart, also realised that as well as being doppelgängers, they had an awful lot in common. Both had attended the same college, and both became RE teachers and choir singers. The pair finally came face-to-face in March when they coincidentally both boarded the same coach for a Friends of Braintree Museum visit to the Magna Carta exhibition at the British Library. 'It was quite spooky,' said Mr Jemison, adding that they 'hit it off immediately' and are now friends. 'My only worry is the number of people who probably think I've been ignoring them when they've been saying "Hello John" to Neil all this time.' Upon meeting, Mr Richardson (left) and Mr Jemison (right), who are both grandfathers-of-four now living just 150 yards apart, also realised they  had a lot in common in terms of their life stories . Mr Richardson married his wife in 1968 (left) while Mr Jemison also married wife Jenny in the sixties (right) In 2011, Devon-born journalist Sophie Robehmed became fascinated by the idea that there might be someone out there in the world who looked exactly like her. In fact, she was the inspiration behind Miss Geaney's ultimately successful social media search. In much the same way, Ms Robehmed launched her mission to find her doppelgänger by publicising it on Facebook, YouTube, and through blogs around the world. And just like Miss Geaney, it turned out that Ms Robehmed didn't need to look that far. Her closest match turned out to be Birmingham native Lauren Hatcher, who worked in the film industry and shared a mutual friend. Devon-born journalist Sophie Robehmed (right) launched a hunt to find her 'twin stranger' in 2011 and found Birmingham native Lauren Hatcher (left) through a mutual friend . After seeing Ms Hatcher's photo, Miss Robehmed set up a meeting in Covent Garden in London, and the rest is history. And in another accidental result, doppelgängers Jonny Sandgrove and Michael Harris, both based in London, got to know each other at university. As cases of mistaken identity around the campus began to mount up, the pair met, again though mutual acquaintances, and ultimately became firm friends. Doppelgängers Jonny Sandgrove (left) and Michael Harris (right), both based in London, got to know each other at University, after friends kept getting them confused . When Mr Harris married his then-girlfriend Naomi a little while later, several members of his family approached Johnny at the wedding to congratulate him. All this comes after Miss Geaney and Miss Branigan's story blew up across the media yesterday, for being the most twin-like case yet. Miss Geaney, a TV presenter, found Miss Branigan after she teamed up with two friends to launch a project called Twin Strangers. This is the moment that Miss Geaney (right) met her doppleganger Miss Branigan (left) for the first time . 'I was ridiculously nervous about how I would react to meeting someone who looks like me' Miss Geaney (right) said about Miss Branigan (left) 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 TwinStrangers from across the world. Incredibly, Miss Geaney found Miss 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. Uncanny: Miss Geaney, a 26-year-old student from Dublin (left), found her 'twin stranger' in Miss Branigan (right), through a social media campaign she launched with friends . ‘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.’ Miss Branigan, who is currently in between jobs, has five sisters and a brother. Miss Geaney has two sisters and a brother, 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'. Miss Branigan (right) turned out to be a fellow Ireland native who lived just an hour down the road from Miss Geaney (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 isn'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!' Miss Geaney (right) said she and Miss Branigan (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, Miss Geaney (right) and Miss Branigan (left) - who are both single - say they've been chatting on Facebook 'constantly' Feedback: Shocked reactions to  their story have flooded in from far and wide . Challenge: Miss Geaney'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 isn'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?'
target: Lookalikes Niamh Geany, 26, and Karen Branigan, 29, made headlines .
  The pair, from Ireland, live only an hour apart .
  A retired priest has also found his doppelgänger, a retired head teacher .
  London-based journalist Sophie Robehmed found hers in Birmingham .
  Two male university students found their body doubles on campus .