Lawyers representing mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor have abruptly abandoned their attempt to introduce controversial new evidence in his civil appeal case.
The dramatic withdrawal came as McGregor’s legal team had been seeking to present testimony from two former neighbors who claimed Nikita Hand was physically attacked by her then-partner just hours after the alleged incident at a Dublin hotel in 2018.
The allegations came from Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins as per Irish Independent, who had submitted affidavits detailing what they claimed to witness at Hand’s residence. However, these claims were suddenly pulled from consideration during this morning’s Court of Appeal proceedings.
Mark Mulholland KC, representing McGregor, informed the three-judge panel that his client’s side had reconsidered their position after reviewing submissions from Hand’s legal representatives. “They had taken a view they could not proceed with the ground of appeal,” Mulholland explained to the court.
The decision appeared linked to difficulties McGregor’s team anticipated in presenting a report from Professor Jack Crane, a former Northern Ireland state pathologist, which allegedly corroborated O’Reilly’s account of events.
Hand’s legal counsel John Gordon expressed astonishment at the last-minute reversal, stating his side was in “sho ck” at the withdrawal. Gordon emphasized the personal toll the allegations had taken on his client, noting that Hand had been “put through the ringer” after the claims were aired in court and subsequently reported in media outlets.
Hand had categorically rejected the neighbors’ accounts, dismissing them as outright fabrications. In her own affidavit, she stated unequivocally: “My ex-partner Stephen Redmond [known as ‘Ste’] did not assault me on the night of December 9/10, 2018, and never assaulted me in the course of our relationship, or since.” She added, “I don’t want to speculate on why Samantha and Steven are making up these lies.”
The withdrawn evidence had formed a cornerstone of McGregor’s appeal strategy, as his legal team sought to present an alternative explanation for the injuries Hand sustained. O’Reilly, a carer, had claimed in her affidavit that she witnessed Hand being attacked by her partner Stephen Redmond, while Cummins, a plumber, alleged he heard disturbing sounds from Hand’s residence.
Both individuals claimed they only came forward after seeing television coverage of the original trial. Neither appeared in court for the appeal hearing, nor did McGregor or his associate James Lawrence, who is also pursuing an appeal.
The presiding judge, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, accepted the withdrawal of this particular ground of appeal. When Gordon inquired whether McGregor’s side would offer an apology to Hand, Mulholland indicated this was “something we can deal with” through McGregor’s solicitor Michael Staines “in due course.”
Gordon raised the possibility of referring the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions for potential perjury charges, as well as allegations of subornation of perjury against McGregor.
The appeal is now proceeding on remaining grounds, which focus primarily on the trial judge’s conduct of the original case. These include challenges to a ruling that allowed the jury to hear McGregor’s repeated “no comment” responses during police interviews, as well as concerns about the specific wording of questions posed to the jury.
