Businessman has been officially nominated by the Trump administration as the next US ambassador to Ireland.

The Cabinet in Dublin signed off on his nomination last month and Irish ambassador to the US, Dan Mulhall, confirmed the appointment on Monday night.

The 80-year-old Republican from Cleveland, Ohio, had been linked with the vacant envoy role since last year shortly after president Donald Trump’s initial choice, Florida businessman Brian Burns, withdrew from consideration due to ill-health.

The US embassy in Dublin had been without an ambassador since Kevin O’Malley, Barack Obama’s envoy to Ireland, stepped down with the inauguration of Mr Trump last year.

The duties of ambassador have been filled by the US chargé d’affaires Reece Smyth since then.

An Irish-American with links to Co Cork, Mr Crawford has been an active presence in the Irish community in Cleveland. In 2012, he hosted then taoiseach Enda Kenny at an event to mark the rededication of the Irish Cultural Garden in the city in 2012.

He is also a central figure in Republican politics and an early supporter of Mr Trump. He was the finance chairman for the Republican National Committee’s Ohio campaign during the 2016 presidential campaign.