Boxing legend Ali honoured
On an emotional visit to see the birthplace of his great grandfather, Muhammad Ali was made the first Honorary Freeman of Ennis, Co Clare .
Tuesday, 01 September 2009
As an overwhelmed Ali accepted the honour, his wife Yolanda "Lonnie" revealed his celebrated defiance with a declaration to return, despite medical advice against travelling.
"Now that we know Muhammad is an Ennis man, we will be back," she said.
Thousands of fans, spanning generations, had packed into the town's main square for hours before the civic reception was broadcast on a huge screen.
Lonnie announced that her husband, who has been battling Parkinson's Disease for 25 years and had never before visited Ennis, was overwhelmed by the experience.
More than three decades after he famously claimed to have "even cancelled the rain" for his Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman, it appeared he had pulled off the same stroke.
After weeks of summer downpours, threatening rainclouds cleared almost within minutes of Ali being spotted touching down at Shannon Airport on Tuesday.
Imelda O'Grady, a distant cousin who embraced the boxing legend as he arrived at Ennis Civic Chamber, was in no doubt about the force behind this freak outbreak of sunshine.
"Look, the sun's come out - it's shining down on him," she said.
Ms O'Grady presented Ali with framed photographs of them both, with the inscription: "Cead Mile Failte (One Hundred Thousand Welcomes) from Imelda O'Grady and the O'Grady families."
"It was unreal; it was a privilege," she said afterwards.
Thousands thronged Turnpike Road, the homeplace of Ali's great-grandfather Abe Grady, who emigrated to the United States in the 1860s and married a freed African-American slave.
The three-time World Heavyweight Champion, renowned as a civil rights champion, astonished his fans when he alighted from a black people carrier to unveil a plaque at his ancestor's house.
As crowds cheered "Muhammad, Muhammad" and "Ali, Ali", he turned and with an impromptu throw-back to his days in the ring, a shadowboxing cameo once again showed the ageing champion at his greatest.
Tight security by handlers kept Ali at a considerable distance from the public during his brief Irish visit.
But like so many of his fights it was all over in minutes and he was again whisked off in a police-escorted motorcade.
Before leaving for the US, the iconic figure stopped off at the nearby baronial Dromoland Castle, for a charity fundraising afternoon tea.
© Press Association