'Conor McGregor lived next door – when caught doing something, he'd run home'

Irish Daily Mirror

a day ago

Years before he was taunting UFC rivals, Conor McGregor was renowned for winding up his Crumlin neighbours with a wide grin spread across his face.
Growing up in South Dublin, an area plagued by gangland violence and high crime rates, 'The Notorious' came from humble beginnings with his mother, Margaret and father, Tony. Nowadays, neighbours say the 36-year-old has regularly been spotted cruising around the area in his Lamborghini.
However, many of the locals will also remember the teenager who grew up teasing his neighbours with his cheeky antics, before quickly escaping the area and going back into his house.
Keith Carolan, who lived next door to McGregor and his family, offered an insight into what the fighter was like as a youngster. Before McGregor's mega-money bout against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, Carolan told the Irish Independent: "He was cheeky, there was no doubt about that. When he would do things he'd run inside and his mother Margaret would come out and defend him.
"He was a little impish bloke. When I say cheeky I don't mean he'd give you backchat, he just had this cheeky grin. He'd say something, or do something, and he'd have this cheeky grin and then he'd go running.
"He was a fast runner as well, you couldn't catch him. He was a normal young fella but he wasn't afraid to speak up for himself. He was brought up right by Margaret and Tony. He'd give you a bit of lip and then he'd run.
"But sometimes he'd just do things for a laugh. You can see it sometimes still in him now. Every now and again when I see him interviewed on the tele you can sometimes see the young Conor comes out."
The formative years of "young Conor" were spent at his local boxing club, being coached by two-time Olympian Phil Sutcliffe Sr. McGregor's fighting prowess, including his signature left-cross that famously floored Jose Aldo at UFC 194 to clinch the featherweight title, was likely rooted in Sutcliffe's mentorship.
During the lead-up to their fight, McGregor consistently got under Aldo's skin by using every opportunity to rattle the Brazilian that was given to him on social media, press conferences and interviews.
Dubliners will always remember the mayhem that ensued at the Convention Centre, when McGregor swaggered over to Aldo's table and swiped his championship belt, leading to a scuffle that UFC boss Dana White and security could not prevent.
McGregor couldn't be stopped as he seized the belt and declared: "You're looking at the King." Yet, despite McGregor's notorious reputation among fight enthusiasts and Dublin locals, Carolan still recalls the mischievous boy who lived next door.
Carolan added: "When he's not brash and when he's not the swaggering Conor McGregor, you see the little young Conor come out. You see the little smile on his face, especially when he's dealing with his fiancee Dee, you see the little smile coming out.
"Or in some of the programmes when you see he's at home with his mam and dad, you see the little look on his face that he used to give when he was a kid, the little look of, 'Oh I'm going to wind these up now.'
"He was a normal kid but they'd have their fights out there, you know the way kids have their fights and Conor would wind them all up."