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Comments (0) |Boxing legend Ali traces roots to Irish town
DUBLIN — Muhammad Ali made a sentimental journey Tuesday to discover his Irish roots, and met distant relatives during celebrations at the local town hall and a nearby castle.
Thousands lined the streets of Ennis, in western Ireland, to cheer his motorcade as the three-time heavyweight champion visited the home of his great-grandfather Abe Grady.
Fans adorned streets with red, white and blue bunting and flags, while shop windows competed to display the most impressive posters honoring Ali — including one tongue-in-cheek portrait of him appearing ready to knock out an unpopular Irish politician.
AP - Boxing legend Muhammad Ali arrived in Ennis, Ireland, Tuesday, flanked by Alltech President Pearse Lyons, right.
AP - Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, centre, arrives in Ennis Ireland Tuesday Sept. 1, 2009 where a plaque was unveiled on Turnpike Road to his ancestors. Ali was on a sentimental journey to see his little-known Irish roots. Tens of thousands are awaiting the three-time world heavyweight champion's arrival Tuesday in the western Irish town of Ennis, the home of Ali's great-grandfather Abe Grady. (AP Photo/Julien Behal/PA) ** UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE **
Ali, who is 67 and battling Parkinson's disease, fought only once in Ireland, knocking out Alvin Lewis at Dublin's Croke Park on July 19, 1972.
Ali offered a few playful jabs to cameras but made no public comments and steered clear of throngs of autograph-seekers Tuesday, among them hundreds of kids whose schools closed early for the event. Police blocked off roads and kept crowds in line with railings.
Grady settled in Kentucky in the 1860s and married a freed slave. One of their grandchildren, Odessa Lee Grady Clay, gave birth to Ali — then Cassius Clay — in 1942.
Genealogists pinpointed Ali's Irish links in 2002, but Ali had never visited Ennis.
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