President Bush's nominee for ambassador to Ireland, Mr James Kenny, was yesterday confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, writesConor O'Clery, in New York
His name will now go forward for almost certain approval by the full Senate either today or after it resumes on October 13th.
Mr Kenny, a prominent Chicago businessman and Republican Party fundraiser, is hoping to arrive in Dublin and present his credentials by mid-October.
The post has been vacant for nine months since the departure of Mr Richard Egan, a prominent Boston businessman and also a Republican Party fund-raiser.
Mr Kenny's nomination had bipartisan support in the Senate.
He was approved last week by the Foreign Relations Committee's sub-committee on Europe after being introduced by the two senators from Illinois, one a Republican, Mr Peter Fitzgerald, the other a Democrat, Mr Dick Durbin.
At the sub-committee hearing Democratic Senator Joe Biden joked: "My grandfather always warned me about Irish-Americans who become rich and turn Republican."
Senator Durbin said Mr Kenny was well placed "to sustain the connection of the heart between America and Ireland.".
Mr Kenny, vice-president of Kenny Construction Company and president of Kenny Management Services, has been in line for the nomination since January.
He was the Bush campaign chairman for Illinois in the 2000 election.
In May two senior Democratic senators, Mr Edward Kennedy and Mr Christopher Dodd, complained to the Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, that people in Ireland felt "slighted" by the delay in nominating a successor to Mr Egan.