This article is from page 83 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 83 JPG
MUHAMMAD Ali crossed the At- lantic on Tuesday, 25 August — went to Old Trafford, visited Ricky Hat- ton’s gym, did charity gigs in Man- chester and Dublin and much more.
All, however, were just cameos and Supporting bouts before the main event on the card — that event was in Ennis where his heart wanted to be. “That’s why he left best for last,” said Dr Pearse Lyons of Alltech, the man responsible for bringing Ali to
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“Ennis is the place he really want to come to, because this is where his ancestors come from. It dawned on him in many respects that he was coming home. He has been emotion- Yi leye) olan |
‘When he arrived we saw The Clare People and he’s inside the back going through it page-by-page. If there’s one thing that Muhammad loves it’s that he likes to read about himself.
‘““We’ve had packed houses wher- ever we went over the past week
— and in those houses only one man touched everyone, yet that one man said nothing. He was able to touch all those people by his presence alone,’ he added.
And, Dr Lyons also pointed out that it was Ennis that Muhammad Ali wanted to reach out to the most. “We are here in Ennis, because it is from Ennis that this great voyage started,” he said. “It’s from Ennis that Mu- hammad Ali’s Irish roots started. He is an icon from Ennis, probably the greatest inspiration in the world, the champ, a proud Irish man.
“It’s impossible to put into words — there’s such a warmth in the man, there’s such a radiation coming from the man. He’s a man that you want to follow and that’s why the people have come out in Ennis today. Mu- hammad is not Irish, he’s global, but today he has realised that he is part Irish and he’s proud of that, very proud of that.
‘“There’s nothing that saps you en- ergy more than emotion — today’s he’s little tired, but that’s because he’s so emotional about it. When we showed him the local paper, the shop windows, the American flags and the Irish flags, his sister-in-law kept say- ing Muhammad, you’re Irish, you’re home.
“Muhammad Ali himself realises that and that’s why this visit to En- nis has been so important to him. It has touched him deeply, just as it has touched the people who came out to see him today,” added Dr Lyons.