Sir, – Sometime in the 1980s, I was attending a meeting at the Omni Park Central Hotel in Manhattan. Sitting in the lobby, I noticed Muhammad Ali standing alone near the entrance. After taking a moment to consider how many times my late father had stayed up late to listen to the great man boxing on Radio Éireann, I decided to approach him, apologising for the intrusion but explaining the central role he had played in the sporting entertainment in our household in the 1960s. He graciously signed an autograph and mentioned his fondness for the Irish. My day was made, meeting a hero and having an unrushed verbal exchange.
Some 20 years later I was visiting New York with my wife, Maureen, and as we passed the HBO TV studios I noticed Muhammad Ali standing alone outside the building. I approached him, gingerly, introducing him to my wife and reminding him of the time I had met him previously at the Omni Park Central.
Leaning down and putting his hand on my shoulder, the great man whispered, “Small world, isn’t it?”
My late father would have treasured one meeting in his lifetime, but with two, I am truly blessed. May the great, gentle and gracious man rest in peace. – Yours, etc,
CORMAC MEEHAN,
Bundoran,
Co Donegal.