NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO DUBLIN GETS CLOSER

The appointment of a new American ambassador to Ireland has moved a step closer.
U.S. President Barrack Obama has sent his nomination of former Chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers Dan Rooney to be the new ambassador to the Senate for confirmation.
The hearings, which are widely expected to confirm Mr. Rooney, are to take place in the next few weeks.
Mr. Rooney will be in Dublin by July 4th if he is confirmed.
The former American football team boss is a highly very popular figure in Irish American circles and should have little difficulty being approved, according to Senate insiders.
The 76-year-old co-founder of the American Ireland Fund endorsed Obama at a key point in the nomination process, despite the fact that he was a self-described conservative Republican.
Mr. Rooney said he was inspired after he saw Obama speak on television.
He offered major support to Obama in the key state of Pennsylvania during the campaign and even brought him to a Steelers game.
In 1975 Rooney and then Heinz CEO Tony O’Reilly founded the American Ireland Fund, an organisation that has raised millions of dollars for peace and education projects in Ireland.
Rooney's legacy can be witnessed in a Steelers-themed bar in an old linen mill in one of the roughest parts of Belfast.
When President Obama made his announcement of Mr. Rooney as his choice to go to Dublin on St. Patrick's Day, he called him “an unwavering supporter of Irish peace, culture and education."
The President said at the time that Mr. Rooney and his new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “will ensure America's continued close and unique partnership with Ireland in the years ahead.”
Mr. Rooney's father, Arthur J. Rooney, founded the Steelers in 1933 and his son took over the presidency of the team in 1975.
The Steelers have won more Super Bowl titles than any other American football team and are the current National Football League champions, having won the title in February this year.
The "Rooney Rule," which requires any team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least one minority candidate, was developed by an NFL committee Mr. Rooney chaired.
Mr. Rooney has also participated in labour negotiations between the league and players.