Nikita Hand breaks silence after Supreme Court refuses to hear Conor McGregor's appeal

Nikita Hand says she feels vindicated as Supreme Court has refused to hear Conor McGregor’s appeal.

In a statement tonight after it emerged that the Supreme Court threw out McGregor’s plea to hear his appeal, Ms Hand described the moment as a “victory” and a vital part of her healing process.

The UFC fighter was hoping the country’s highest court would hear his appeal against a decision by a High Court jury, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal, that he raped Ms Hand in an incident at the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford, Dublin in December 2018.

In her statement released to this paper tonight Ms Hand said:

“After 7 years seeking Justice, Accountability and Peace I am pleased to say that the Irish civil Justice System has allowed my voice to be heard; it has allowed me to speak my truth. It has afforded me vindication. This in itself is part of the healing process,” she said.

“The public and private roads that I and my loved ones have travelled have been long and painful. Today marks not a victory for me but for all of those who have been treated as I have. You are never alone on your journey, if you choose not to be. Help and support is there."

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She continued: “It is also a victory for the justice system; the Judges, the Juries and officials who work so hard to make our system honest and fair. To all at the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and all of the advocates of all of those who work tirelessly for the healing of victims I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you, life would have been different,” she added.

“I also want to thank the team at the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at the Rotunda, and the first responders, who took such excellent care of me.

“Together with the team at Coleman Legal, who have listened, understood, supported and advocated for me in this long and difficult case, I say to all of us who have made or are about to make this difficult journey towards justice; Our voice is the most powerful thing we have, don't be afraid to use it.”

In its decision, communicated to both McGregor and Ms Hand today, the court said that it is “not satisfied that any matter of general public importance arises in this application justifying an appeal to this Court.”

They further stated that McGregor “sets out, as such a matter, the question as to what are the principles governing the admissibility, in a civil trial, of evidence which trenches on the right to silence of a litigant who was a suspect in a related criminal investigation.

“While such a question could arise hypothetically, it does not arise here on the facts of this case,” the court said.

“The decision of the Court below involved the application of well-established principles as to whether the jury should have been discharged in the light of an erroneous ruling by the trial judge, and as to how the risk of an unfair trial may be avoided by the trial judge making necessary rulings and giving the appropriate directions to the jury. The application of those principles to the particular facts of this case is not a matter of general public importance,” it further stated.

The Court went on to state that it was “satisfied that the applicant has had a fair hearing, notwithstanding the admission of the “no comment” evidence, followed by a full appeal to the Court of Appeal, and therefore he has had the benefit of his right of appeal.”

The decision marks the end of a long road for Ms Hand, who was awarded €250,000 by a civil jury which found that McGregor had assaulted her in a major case that made headlines throughout November 2023.

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