Merrion Press 🔖has just published a new book byDave Hannigan.
COMING SOON
THE BIG FIGHT When Ali Conquered Ireland
Dave Hannigan
The thrilling story of Muhammad Ali’s 1972 visit to Dublin,
told through interviews with dozens of those Ali met over the course
of those seven unforgettable days.
On a balmy July
evening in 1972, to the sound of The Dubliners, Muhammad Ali climbed
through the ropes to fight Al ‘Blue’ Lewis at Croke Park. The most famous
athlete in the world had somehow been inveigled to Ireland by Butty Sugrue,
a charismatic entrepreneur who was ridiculed for trying to do the
impossible right up to the moment Ali and his entourage touched down at
Dublin Airport. And so began a week of the most glorious mayhem, as ‘the
Champ’ charmed the Irish people.
Ali could be found
jogging along Wicklow lanes, strolling into The Old Stand pub, chatting
with street cleaners, and paying an early morning visit to the GPO to
receive a history lesson about the Easter Rising. No matter where he
fetched up, wonderful chaos ensued. Traffic stopped. Crowds gathered. The
greatest show on earth had come to town.
Through interviews
with dozens of those Ali met and worked with over the course of those seven
unforgettable days, Dave Hannigan has pieced together an enthralling
narrative of one of the most unique events in Irish sporting history.
Merrion Press 🔖has just published a new book byDave Hannigan.
COMING SOON
THE BIG FIGHT When Ali Conquered Ireland
Dave Hannigan
The thrilling story of Muhammad Ali’s 1972 visit to Dublin,
told through interviews with dozens of those Ali met over the course
of those seven unforgettable days.
On a balmy July
evening in 1972, to the sound of The Dubliners, Muhammad Ali climbed
through the ropes to fight Al ‘Blue’ Lewis at Croke Park. The most famous
athlete in the world had somehow been inveigled to Ireland by Butty Sugrue,
a charismatic entrepreneur who was ridiculed for trying to do the
impossible right up to the moment Ali and his entourage touched down at
Dublin Airport. And so began a week of the most glorious mayhem, as ‘the
Champ’ charmed the Irish people.
Ali could be found
jogging along Wicklow lanes, strolling into The Old Stand pub, chatting
with street cleaners, and paying an early morning visit to the GPO to
receive a history lesson about the Easter Rising. No matter where he
fetched up, wonderful chaos ensued. Traffic stopped. Crowds gathered. The
greatest show on earth had come to town.
Through interviews
with dozens of those Ali met and worked with over the course of those seven
unforgettable days, Dave Hannigan has pieced together an enthralling
narrative of one of the most unique events in Irish sporting history.
Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.
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