A Cork man who has laid claim to a $165 million inheritance is to have the body of his grandfather exhumed today in an attempt to prove his rightful claim to the fortune.
Mr Dermot O'Regan (62), from Ovens, Co Cork, has fought a 20-year legal battle for the money since the death of Irish emigrant and wealthy heiress Mary Ellen Sheehan in the US in 1983.
Mr O'Regan, who owns and operates O'Regan Precast in Cork, claims he is the only living relative of Mrs Sheehan and that he should get the money.
He enlisted the help of a well-known Cork genealogist, Mr Jim Herlihy, to find the connection between himself and Mrs Sheehan.
Mary Ellen O'Regan left her home in Bandon, Co Cork, to emigrate to America in 1888, Mr Herlihy has established. She was the youngest sister of Mr O'Regan's grandfather, Mr Gerry O'Regan, who was buried in St Finbarr's cemetery in Cork just over 20 years ago.
Mary Ellen married an Irish-American policeman, Mr William "Bill" Sheehan, based in New York. She changed her age on her marriage certificate because she was under age and needed her parents' consent for the marriage.
The couple moved to the deep south and bought a home in Savannah in the state of Georgia.
Mr Sheehan started a successful property business and became a multimillionaire.
However, the couple were haunted by sadness, with all of their four children dying young.
When Mr Sheehan died, Mary Ellen inherited his vast wealth. When she died in 1983, there were no direct heirs left to the fortune.
The cash was effectively frozen by the State of Georgia until a direct claimant emerged.
If it is not claimed, under US law, the entire estate reverts to the government.
The Bandon-born woman was interred in Saint Bonaventure's Cemetery in Georgia. Lawyers successfully fought a legal battle for her remains to be exhumed and for a DNA sample to be taken.
Another DNA sample must be taken from one of Mr O'Regan's direct antecedents to determine finally if he is entitled to the money.
The remains of Mr O'Regan's grandfather will be exhumed at dawn today and a DNA sample taken for analysis.
If it matches that of Mary Ellen Sheehan and Dermot O'Regan, then Mr O'Regan will become a multimillionaire.