This article is from page 89 of the 2009-09-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 89 JPG
IT’S debatable whether or not a crowd of such size – estimated to have been in excess of 10,000 – would have shown up in such large numbers had there not existed a focal point for the CRs
Throughout ‘Tuesday morning, pockets of people made their way to Abbey Street Car Park. Most leaned back to gaze at the Godzilla-like structure that greeted them, that huge screen that dominated the land- scape and served as a fulcrum for the event.
The Abbey Street element provided a festival feel to the visit of Ali and for hours, people lingered in front of
the stage and in front of the screen in anticipation of a glimpse of Ali.
The weather, too, was a major plus. Generally, it remained favourable. At one stage, singer Tommy Flem- ing noticed that for once, the sun remained behind the clouds and as the only sprinkle of rain danced on the heads of those in attendance, Fleming noted, while performing on stage, that if the crowd were going to get wet, then so too was he.
Later, the crowd got what they had come to see. Ali in the council of- fices being made the first Freeman of Ennis.
The image was beamed all over the Abbey Street Car Park as Sha- ron Shannon and her band took a
breather.
“That was the pinnacle of the day from my point of view,” said ‘Tomas Madigan, CEO of Sports Academy International, the Clare company that organised and co-ordinated the Abbey Street element of the day. ‘To see the smile on the faces of the thousands who came to Abbey Street as Ali received his Freeman status was extremely special.”
Speaking after the event on Tues- day afternoon, Madigan added that the success of last week’s event paves the way to maintain links with Mu- hammad Ali in years to come.
‘People turned out from every cor- ner of Ireland to celebrate Ali’s Irish and Clare links and the fact that we
had such a massive occasion goes to show that there’s great admiration and respect for the boxer. That her- itage can certainly be fostered down the line.”
He added that the inclusion of the big screen ensured the general public had the chance to witness first hand the official and historic moment of Ali’s welcome to Ennis.
“That was a major achievement for Sports Academy International. Not only did the screen allow the crowd to see the performers on stage, it also gave exclusive footage of what was going on in the Town Council offices in Drumbiggle.
“That wouldn’t have been possible without the goodwill of the people of
Ennis and Clare and the help of our sponsors.”
On Monday, Madigan added that in the six days since Alli’s visit, the pub- lic feedback on the whole experience has been incredibly positive.
“We couldn’t have wished for a bet- ter day, in all aspects.”