Fortune hunt in hands of court

DERMOT O’REGAN has done a lot of digging in the last 19 years in his efforts to claim a family inheritance. But on May 6 a court decision may pave the way for a trip to the US where the fortune awaits.

On that day the businessman will ask the High Court here to allow him to open a grave in Savannah, Georgia, a move which may finally prove he’s the closest living relative of a woman who left a $160 million fortune.

Though the court is in a different jurisdiction, it is believed US authorities will allow Mr O’Regan to exhume the body of Irish-American Mary Ellen Sheehan and make DNA comparisons to verify his claim beyond doubt.