Tony McGregor, the father of notorious UFC star Conor McGregor, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday. The 64-year-old was taken to the Hermitage Clinic in Dublin after suffering from chest pains and confirmed on Instagram to be recovering from a heart attack.
“Heat attack in the morning, stent in the afternoon,” McGregor’s dad posted on the social media platform. “Sweet and sour chicken in the evening, see ya later suckers.”
Tony expressed his gratitude to the staff at the west Dublin medical center, confirming he was “all good now” and termed the care from his medics as “the best ever”. Conor was reportedly among several relatives that stayed by his dad’s side as he recovered.
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The 64-year-old Liverpudlian has been an ever-present family man amid his son’s sensational fighting career. McGregor’s dad began his relationship with wife Margaret at just 16 years old and supported his family through a 26-year career as a cab driver.
After moving to Dublin, Margaret and McGregor had three children, and while initially discouraging the fighting career of youngest Conor he quickly changed his tune.
“It could have been a train coming out of a tunnel, but I didn’t see it whatsoever,” Tony has said. “I didn’t approve of Conor’s job choice initially, because I just couldn’t see the career in it, but I’m bang on board now and have been since well before the UFC. He was able to prove me wrong, which has made me so proud.”
This is the second major health scare of the last 15 years for McGregor’s father, who overcame testicular cancer at age 50 in 2010. Diagnosed with stage one seminoma, he quickly underwent surgery and radiotherapy, even continuing to drive his taxi cab as he made a complete recovery.
“I found a lump and it wasn’t painful, but I was concerned so I got myself down to the GP,” McGregor told the Irish Independent. “I knew it was urgent as he sent me to A & E at St Vincent’s hospital. When you first hear the word ‘cancer’, it gives you a fright, and I was shaking like a leaf but knew I was in good hands. I didn’t have private health cover, but I got great treatment and excellent care from Mr David Quinlan and his team. The oncology staff in Vincent’s are out of this world.”
After a life of meager riches, McGregor has recently enjoyed the luxuries of his son’s $530 million career earnings. He showed off a £170,000 Porsche on Instagram as part of an advertisement for Conor’s alcohol company Forged Stout. But despite the pair’s online personalities, he emphasised that the McGregor family is quite pedestrian behind the scenes.
“At home, Conor is as grounded as anybody, and he sits on the sofa with his feet up watching TV or he walks his dog,” Tony has said. “Dee is his long-term partner and she is such a lovely girl – a sweetheart. We have this showbiz side when we’re rubbing shoulders at fights… but then we go back to Lucan and we’re just a normal family.”