- Muhammad Ali Visited Ireland - Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons
It’s official! Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has Irish roots. In celebration, thousands of people turned out to give Ali a rapturous welcome when he visited the western Irish town of Ennis, in County Clare on Tuesday, 1st September 2009.
Muhammad Ali’s Irish Ancestry
It was researchers at the County Clare Heritage Centre in the south west of Ireland who discovered documents showing that one of Ali's great-grandfathers came from Ennis. Research was already being carried out on Ali by the Irish language TV station TG4 and this was picked up by the Heritage Centre.
The Heritage Centre found that Ali’s great-great grandfather, John Grady, the father of his great-grandfather, Abe, had rented a house and garden in Ennis. The rateable value in 1855 was fifteen shillings (75p). Abe Grady himself was found to have lived on the Turnpike Road in Ennis.
Muhammad Ali’s Great Grandfather in America
In the 1860s, sailing from Cappa Harbour in Kilrush Co Clare, Abe, like thousands of Irish, joined the Irish diaspora and emigrated to America.
Abe eventually settled in Kentucky where he met and married a freed African-American slave. They had a son who also married an African-American woman. One of the son's daughters, Odessa Lee Grady, would be Ali’s mother. She married his father, Cassius Clay senior and they settled in Louisville. Their son, the future legendary boxer, was born in 1942 and was given his father’s name. After winning the World Title in 1964, Cassius Clay became a member of the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali Visits His Ancestral Home
On 1st September, 2009 Muhammad Ali made an emotional trip to Ennis, in County Clare accompanied by his wife, Lonnie and his daughter, Hanna. It had been raining every day until Ali’s arrival. As the sun shone down, he received a rapturous welcome from thousands of people, including numerous extended family members.
A distant cousin, Imelda O’Grady, said, ‘Look, the sun’s come out – it’s shining down on him.’ She 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.’
Huge television screens relayed his visit to local crowds, and a concert of traditional music celebrated this unique event.
Ali, a sufferer of Parkinson’s Disease, passed along the streets of Ennis in his motorcade. Shop windows were decorated with pictures of the iconic boxer in his prime, one bearing a banner which said, “Welcome, Ali O’Grady”. Red, white and blue bunting fluttered in the breeze and schoolchildren, given the afternoon off, lined the roadside.
Muhammad Ali First Honorary Freeman of Ennis
The Town Council honoured Ali by making him the first Honorary Freeman of Ennis. This honour recognised not only his ancestral connection to the town, but his sporting achievements and tireless charity work.
Ali unveiled a plaque commemorating his Irish roots. Despite being unable to speak, he delighted the cheering crowds by shadow-boxing. He also broke away from the entourage to hug a child in a wheelchair.
American Claims to Irish Ancestry
Ali’s visit to his ancestral home will not be his last. According to his wife, and despite reservations of his doctors, Ali will be back.
Many iconic Americans can lay claim to Irish ancestry. Seventeen US Presidents have links with Ireland, including John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Barack Obama’s maternal line is said to trace back to a shoemaker from Moneygall, County Offaly.
Sources:
- Mail on Line 2nd September, 2009
- BBC News UK 1st September 2009
- Telegraph.co.uk 1st September 2009
- Boxing-memorabilia.com
See Also:
- Daniel Mendoza - First Jewish Boxing Champion - examines the life of Mendoza, the father of Scientific Boxing.
- Dealing With Depression in Sport - how the pressurised sporting world can lead to depressive illness and how some sports personalities are helping people to deal with it.
