At 30 years old, Ali arrived in Ireland at a pivotal juncture in his storied career. The career-defining triumphs against George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle" and Joe Frazier in the "Thrilla in Manila" were still to come in his future. Yet, his global fame was already unparalleled. Kerry promoter Michael ‘Butty’ Sugrue managed to pull off a sensational promotional deal, enticing the former heavyweight world champion to fight in Dublin for a reported sum of £300,000.
When fight night arrived at Croke Park, Ali was tasked with overcoming both his opponent, Alvin Lewis, and his own physical discomfort. Battling a cold throughout the contest, Ali showed his trademark resilience and boxing intelligence, gradually taking control of the fight before securing an 11th-round victory over Lewis.
From a financial standpoint, the event presented a complicated picture for the organizers. Official figures revealed that just 17,000 fans made their way through the turnstiles at Croke Park on the night—a figure that fell 15,000 short of the 32,000 crowd required for the promotion to break even. However, the official attendance did not reflect the true size of the gathering inside the stadium. Countless other fans proved far more creative in finding non-traditional ways to gain entry, slipping into the ground to ensure the stands were filled with noise and enthusiasm.
Among those who entered the venue through conventional means was Kilkenny hurling great Eddie Keher. The year 1972 was already a monumental one for Keher, who was firmly established as one of the elite figures in Gaelic games. That very same year, Keher collected the fourth of his career’s six All-Ireland senior hurling medals, cementing his place in hurling folklore.
Beyond his accomplishments on the pitch, Keher was an avid boxing fan. His passion for the sweet science traced back to his youth, when he would sit alongside his father burning the midnight oil. Together, they tuned into static-heavy radio broadcasts late into the night, listening to dramatic commentary detailing the bouts of heavyweight greats such as Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano, before later following the rise of Ali.
As the promotional campaign for the Croke Park event reached its peak across Ireland, organizers sought to combine the country’s native sport with the international glamour of world heavyweight boxing. A unique meeting was arranged for Keher to meet Ali in person at the Kilternan Hotel—an event Keher would later look back on as a true high point in his life.
Recalling the encounter on BBC Sport NI’s GAA Social podcast, Keher described the initial shock he felt upon meeting the heavyweight icon face-to-face. Expecting the loud, boastful figure who regularly captivated television audiences around the world, Keher was surprised by the gentle and quiet manner of the man standing before him.
"I was dumbstruck when I saw him [Ali]," Keher told the podcast. "He was different from what I imagined because he wasn’t the flamboyant guy we’d seen on television."
Outside the hotel, members of the press gathered in anticipation of catching a glimpse of the two sports stars together. Keher arrived prepared for the promotional shoot, carrying two hurls and a sliotar, with the intention of giving the boxing superstar a quick lesson in how to play hurling.
However, translating Ali’s extraordinary athletic instincts to hurling presented an amusing challenge. Ali found it difficult to grip the hurl with two hands in the conventional fashion required to strike the sliotar cleanly. Adapting in his own unique style, Ali chose instead to hold the stick in one hand, striking at the ball much like a player swinging a tennis racquet.
Throughout the initial moments, Ali remained unassuming and low-key. But with the press watching closely, the legendary showman within him quickly awoke. Ali moved close to Keher and quietly shared his plan to give the media photographers the spectacle they were waiting for.
"He was still the ordinary guy but then he came up close to me and said, ‘we’ll put on a show for these guys,’" Keher recalled.
In an instant, the quiet demeanor vanished. Ali picked up his hurl and feigned a strike toward Keher, who instinctively raised his own stick to block the blow. Ali then began moving around the room, playfully fencing with the hurling stick and striking theatrical poses for the cameras. In that sudden transformation, the quiet figure vanished, replaced by the charismatic, magnetic Muhammad Ali that the world knew so well.
Ali’s impact on Irish fight figures extended far beyond his time at Kilternan. For veteran boxer Maguire, Ali’s journey intersected with his own boxing career on multiple memorable occasions across the United Kingdom.
Maguire navigated his own tough path through the professional ranks. Following early career setbacks in British and Commonwealth bantamweight title fights, Maguire demonstrated remarkable fortitude to climb back to the top of the division. His perseverance was rewarded in 1975 when he avenged a previous defeat against David Needham to claim the prestigious Lonsdale Belt.
During the build-up to that triumph, Maguire had the opportunity to reunite with Ali at Wembley Stadium, sharing a moment with the heavyweight legend as he prepared for his own career-defining contest.
Two years later, in August 1977, the pair crossed paths once again at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The venue was hosting a special testimonial dinner in honor of Ali’s close friend Paddy Monaghan, the Fermanagh-born bare-knuckle boxer who had formed a deep bond with the world champion.
By that stage of his career, Maguire was competing at the absolute pinnacle of European boxing. He went on to secure an impressive draw against European champion Daniel Trioulaire before earning a second shot at the European crown, which ended in defeat against Franco Zurlo. Maguire’s memorable career inside the ring eventually drew to a close following a hard-fought defeat against Johnny Owen, which marked his final stand as a professional fighter.
Reflecting on his years in the ring, Maguire looks back on the triumphs and challenges with immense satisfaction. "There were ups and downs," Maguire said of his career, "but it’s one I’m proud of."
Following his retirement from competition, Maguire remained deeply involved in the sport, contributing his extensive experience to governance as a member of the British Boxing Board of Control’s Northern Ireland Council.
Now, as Katie Taylor prepares to step into the ring at Croke Park, Maguire will be watching the historic occasion from home. As a pioneer for women’s boxing, Taylor is set
