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Conor McGregor outside the High Court in Dublin in November 2024.Alamy Stock Photo
Court of Appeal
Court to hear claims from new witnesses in Conor McGregor civil case appeal
A former neighbour of Nikita Hand has sworn an affidavit that she saw her being punched by her then-partner hours after a civil jury found McGregor raped her.
6.01am, 1 Jul 2025
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THE COURT OF Appeal will today hear claims from two new witnesses that Conor McGregor is seeking to introduce as evidence as part of his appeal against a civil jury finding that he raped a woman in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
In November last year, McGregor was deemed liable for sexually assaulting Nikita Hand in the Beacon Hotel on 9 December 2018 following a three-week civil trial at the High Court, with the jury in the case awarding Hand over €248,000 in damages.
McGregor, who had denied the allegations, subsequently appealed the jury’s decision and is seeking a re-trial of the civil case against him.
The Court of Appeal will decide whether the new evidence that McGregor is seeking to introduce to the case is admissible.
The claims were made by a couple who were neighbours of Nikita Hand at the time of the incident.
The woman claims to have witnessed Hand being punched and possibly kicked by her then-partner hours after she returned home from the hotel where a civil jury found she was raped by McGregor.
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She has sworn an affidavit that she saw Hand being punched by her then-partner.
The woman has also sworn that while she did not actually see Hand being kicked on the ground, by the body movement of her then-partner, she believes he kicked Hand after he punched her.
Lawyers for Hand previously told the court that she has sworn an affidavit describing the claims by the woman as “lies”.
In May, the Court of Appeal heard that the application would focus on the credibility of the two new intended witnesses as to why they did not come forward during the trial last November.
Mr Justice Seamus Noonan said all deponents connected to the alleged new evidence can be cross examined.
The appeal proceedings could take up to three days.
During the civil trial last November, Hand told the court that McGregor raped her in the penthouse of the hotel and “wouldn’t take no for an answer” when she told him that she did not want to have sex with him.
The court heard evidence of Hand’s extensive bruising, including from a paramedic who treated her the morning after the assault and from a doctor at the Rotunda Hospital Sexual Assault Treatment Unit which she attended. Hand alleged that the bruising was caused by McGregor.
Related Reads
McGregor seeks to introduce evidence from new witness in appeal of civil sexual assault finding
Conor McGregor seeks to introduce ‘fresh evidence’ in appeal of civil sexual assault finding
McGregor denied all of the allegations against him, telling the court that he and Hand had “fully consensual” sex.
The jury found that McGregor’s friend James Lawrence, of Rafter’s Road in Drimnagh, did not sexually assault Hand.
He had alleged that he had consensual sex with Hand twice in the Beacon Hotel on 9 December 2018. Hand told the court that she had no memory of this and described it as “a made-up story”.
Lawrence has also lodged an appeal in the case, which will be heard alongside McGregor’s appeal.
It is understood to be related to the High Court’s decision not to award him his costs in the case.
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