The appointment of the new US Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Dick Egan (65), has been confirmed formally by the Senate in Washington. Mr Egan, a multimillionaire founder of the Massachusetts-based EMC computer storage company, is expected to take up his post in Dublin before the end of the month.
His appointment was confirmed by acclamation last Friday after a smooth hearing earlier at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
That hearing followed what could have proved to be untimely, embarrassing personal revelations about youthful indiscretions in Mr Egan's time in military service by the Boston Globe and Herald papers. There was also a disclosure that he was forced to pay some $36,700 in fines to the Federal Election Commission because of excessive political donations.
Despite earlier suggestions that Senator Edward Kennedy might make difficulties for him, Mr Egan faced friendly questioning at the hearing on issues ranging from his managerial experience as the founder of the $9 billion EMC business, to his analysis of Ireland's rejection of the Nice Treaty. Following the hearing, Mr Kennedy stated: "The position of ambassador to Ireland is extraordinarily important, and I believe Mr Egan will do an effective job."
Mr Egan is a long-time prominent Republican and Bush fundraiser, who has brought his information storage company from its beginnings in a garage in 1979 to the ranks of the Fortune 500. It now employs 23,000 and has offices in 50 countries, including Ireland. Mr Egan plans to step down from the company's board if confirmed as ambassador to Ireland, but doesn't intend to sell his large stake.
Mr Egan's grandparents are understood to have come from Co Meath, while his wife Maureen's parents are FitzGeralds from Co Cork. Their five children are Irish citizens.
