New ambassador from US expected to be ratified today

The new US ambassador to Ireland, Mr Dick Egan (65), was expected this morning to be formally ratified by the US Senate following a smooth hearing earlier this week at the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

However, the hearing on Tuesday followed what could have proved to be untimely and embarrassing personal revelations about youthful indiscretions in his time in military service.

The Boston Globe and Boston Herald disclosed that Mr Egan, a multimillionaire, was forced last week to pay $36,700 in fines to the federal election commission because of excessive political donations.

At the weekend, the Boston papers revealed that in 1954, at the age of 18 while in the marines, Mr Egan had been court-martialled for being absent without leave from his base in Tennessee. This followed an incident in which he and some friends stole a car.

Jailed for car theft for three months, he was then sentenced by the subsequent court-martial to six months for being absent without leave, all but one of which was suspended.

Despite the AWOL conviction, Mr Egan was honorably discharged and recommended for re-enlistment by his superiors less than two years later.

The papers also revealed that Mr Egan's military career may have been exaggerated in his firm's publicity materials which suggested he "served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean conflict". In fact Mr Egan joined the Marines 18 days before the war ended and did not see service in Korea.

Despite earlier suggestions that Senator Edward Kennedy might make waves for him, Mr Egan faced friendly questioning at the hearing.

The issues covered ranged from his managerial experience as the founder of the $9 billion EMC computer storage business to his analysis of Ireland's rejection of the Nice treaty. They did not touch on his military experience. Observers say he acquitted himself well.

Following the hearing, Mr Kennedy made clear he had no reservations about the nominations. "I intend to support Mr Egan's nomination," he said in a statement. "The position of ambassador to Ireland is extraordinarily important, and I believe Mr Egan will do an effective job."

The committee approved his nomination unanimously and the full Senate is expected to follow suit without debate.

Asked by Senator Chris Dodd, a leading Democratic member of the Friends of Ireland, how he saw the role of the embassy in Dublin in the peace process, Mr Egan said he saw it essentially as a "facilitator" of discussion which would assist the administration's engagement in the process.

Mr Dodd also broached the $36,700 fine last week for excessive campaign contributions in 1998 and 2000. "When it becomes excessive, it appears these positions" as ambassadors "are open to a bidding process," he said.

Mr Egan said he received 1,000 requests for donations and granted 400. "Quite frankly, I did not pay attention to where I stood financially," he said. "It was carelessness."

During the hearing, the veteran right-winger Senator Jesse Helms (79) suggested, to some amusement, that Mr Egan get to know Bono who had recently called on the senator as part of his campaign for the relief of debt in the Third World. The two apparently struck it off famously.

Mr Egan is expected to be in Dublin by the middle of the month. Massachussetts-based, he is a long-time prominent Republican and Bush fundraiser.

He has brought his information storage company, EMC, from its launch in a garage in 1979 to the ranks of the Fortune 500. It now employs 23,000 workers and has offices in 50 countries, including a plant in Ovens, Co Cork.

Mr Egan plans to step down from the company's board if confirmed as ambassador to Ireland. However, he does not intend to sell his large stake in the firm, according to a letter he sent last month to the State Department.

Mr Egan's grandparents are understood to be from Co Meath, while the parents of his wife, Maureen, are FitzGeralds from Co Cork. His five children are Irish citizens.