A boxer who spoke to David Byrne just minutes before he was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in Dublin has revealed his brain tumour is growing again.
Galway native Peter McDonagh is a three-weight Irish champion, who inspired others to live by the old saying, 'It ain't about how hard you hit, but about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward'.
McDonagh, who grew up in London refused to let circumstances get the better of him and went on to have one truly amazing ride.
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He told The Daily Star recently: "Boxing was self-harming. It was really weird because after I knocked out Michael Gomez and I realised I wasn’t going to get an opportunity, I started going backwards and forwards from boxing. I only kept going to keep me on the straight and narrow.
"When I lost my sister, I promised never to lose again. Now I have a wife and kids. After I had the 15-hour brain tumour operation, I was told I wasn't going to walk for a while, but like I do, I broke the records, but four days later, I got the call about my brother, that he’d hung himself.
"With mental health, it’s great to talk about it. But on social media, people say it’s terrible, and then five minutes later, they post something without thinking about what someone else is feeling. I put real-life stuff on there. It’s for me to help people.
"Writing the book is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I'm dyslexic, but I got it done. There are not many people who won't shed a tear reading it."
McDonagh, who documents his life in in his new book 'Irish Blood and Grit, revealed on social media this week that his brain tumour is growing again as he prepares for further treatment.
He tweeted: "News today my brain tumour is growing again find out on Wednesday next step of treatment 3rd fight with it but I will win again inside my head."
Reminiscing on his career recently, McDonagh said:"It’s amazing what I’ve done with everything that’s gone on in my life outside boxing. I always found that when my back was against the wall, I performed. Could I have done better? 100%. Was I dedicated? Not really.
"I’d be in the gym, but I always ate rubbish, put five or six pints of Guinness back and then get a phone call telling me, 'You’re fighting on Friday'. Not many people took fights on two hours' notice sitting in a McDonalds'. But I did.
"Straight to York Hall, and that’s a fact."
He continued: "I’ve trained all over the world. I was going from five-star hotels to a caravan with no wifi; I lived it. I trained with Goody Petronelli, who worked with Marvin Hagler. The stories I’ve got from training camps are second to none.
"The book is about showing people that life is hard, but you can get through it. As soon as I finished writing it, I got terrible news straight away. I was told that my tumour has grown back, so I have to keep writing.
"At the start of the book, I speak about my amateur coach Steve Hiser, who was a huge role model to me.
"My wife, Candice, is my rock. My two kids, Marnie and Shannon, have also been through a lot. They've lost an aunt and an uncle, and they have a dad with a brain tumour and a crazy dad at that."
And while the family has been rocked, McDonagh vows to continue doing what he has throughout his entire life, and keep on fighting.
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