Genealogist Antoinette O’Brien discovered that one of Ali’s great-grandfathers emigrated to the United States from County Clare.
In the 1860s, Abe Grady left Ennis in County Clare to start a new life in America. He would make his home in Kentucky and marry a free African-American woman.
The couple started a family, and one of their daughters was Odessa Lee Grady. Odessa met and married Cassius Clay, Sr. and on January 17, 1942, Cassius junior was born.
In 2009, Ali visited County Clare with his then wife to connect with his Irish roots, where he received a resounding welcome from the populace. He was mobbed by tens of thousands of locals who turned out to meet him and show him the area where his great-grandfather came from.
Ali’s views on many subjects, including intergration, changed as he matured and gained more wisdom. I suspect that this revelation about his Caucasian ancestry had much to do with it.
So that's where he got his Gift of Gab!
In 2009, Ali visited County Clare... to connect with his Irish roots... He was mobbed by tens of thousands of locals who turned out to meet him....
I saw Ali mobbed by (white) fans when he was around 27 years old, from across Walnut street as he was walking along one of the main blocks in the center of Philadelphia in 1971. He was a very charismatic-looking young man.
Thanks for sharing that historical info. Enlightening.