Muhammad Ali was greeted by cheering crowds of well-wishers as he visited his ancestral home town in Ireland on Tuesday (01Sep09).
The frail sports legend, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, was invited to the country after local researchers discovered documents that indicate one of his ancestors was born in the County Clare town of Ennis 160 years ago.
The 67 year old celebrated his Irish roots and was made an Honorary Freeman of Ennis at a reception watched by hundreds on big screens outside.
Shops throughout the town were decorated with American flags, boxing gloves and pictures of the star in his prime to mark the occasion. A plaque was also unveiled outside the place where Ali's great-grandfather once lived.
Ali's wife Lonnie said afterwards, "I believe every citizen of Ennis was lining the streets to welcome Muhammad home, I've never seen anything like this before. It was better than any medicine you could give him."
Irishman Abe Grady emigrated to the U.S. in the 1860s, before settling in Kentucky and marrying an African-American woman.
Grady's son went on to raise Odessa Lee Grady, who would give birth to Cassius Clay Jr., named after his father, in 1942.
Cassius changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964, when he became a member of the Nation of Islam.
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