Man claiming to be Muhammad Ali's son avoids jail after threatening garda

Tom Tuite

A former advertising staffer who insists he is a long-lost son of boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been spared jail after starting a row and threatening a garda in Dublin.

Ibn Muhammad Ali, who has given two ages, 39 and 51, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to a breach of the peace in Smithfield on August 7th, and failing to comply with a caution to leave the area peacefully.

He also pleaded guilty to giving gardaí a false address, which turned out to be a Muhammad Ali tourist centre in the United States.

The accused came from England seven weeks ago and had been camping outside the American embassy in Dublin.

Garda Keith Power told Judge Shalom Binchy that he was "flagged down" by Ali, who told him another man had his jumper, which had been stolen from him previously.

The officer spoke to the man, who proved he owned it by showing a receipt on his phone, and he then went to leave.

The court heard Ali started to follow the man and told Garda Power: "If I tried to stop him, he would f**king kill me."

Garda Power cautioned him to leave the area, but Ali failed to comply so was arrested and taken to the Bridewell Garda station. Once there, he produced his driving licence with his name, which was handed into court.

He has no prior convictions.

Ali had faced bail objections over concerns about his identity. However, he insisted he was the kidnapped son of the three times heavyweight boxing champ, Muhammad Ali, previously Cassius Clay, "from his third marriage".

"I am a victim of child kidnapping; I would like a lawyer; I have always told the truth," he said.

The court heard he has an online blog about his life story and set up a GoFundMe page to help reunite him with his family in America.

The judge assigned solicitor Kate McGhee to represent the accused and granted legal aid.

After consulting with Ali, Ms McGhee told the court her client came to Ireland to research his family background in Ennis, Co Clare, where the boxer had relatives.

She said the accused had contacted gardaí about the jumper, but was not shown the receipt which the garda saw. His belongings were stolen last week, counsel added.

The court heard the accused also used the date of birth of the boxer's son, and had ties to London, where he lived for 21 years. Counsel said he had also worked for an advertising firm until a family bereavement in 2012.

However, he now believes his family is in America and wished to get in touch with the US embassy.

On the charges, Judge Binchy said Ali's pursuit of the man could have been "extremely distressing".

Noting the guilty plea, she applied the Probation of Offenders Act, sparing Ali a conviction and sentence. The judge told the solicitor she hoped the accused could be persuaded to get some assistance.