Conor McGregor seeks permission from the Supreme Court to make another appeal over Nikita Hand ruling

CONOR MCGREGOR HAS applied to the Supreme Court to appeal a civil High Court jury’s finding that he assaulted Nikita Hand.

The application follows the Court of Appeal’s rejection in July of the former MMA fighter’s challenge to the High Court jury verdict that he raped Ms Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

The court upheld the jury’s award of €248,000 in damages to Ms Hand, and directed she was entitled to her legal costs against McGregor.

A three-judge panel will now decide if his case raises an issue of public importance or meets the “interests of justice” threshold needed to proceed in the Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeal rejected a separate appeal by James Lawrence, who had asked the High Court to order Ms Hand to pay his legal costs after a jury dismissed her claim that he assaulted her once McGregor had left the hotel.

Since that ruling, McGregor has hired new lawyers, Mulholland Law, to seek permission from the Supreme Court to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The same firm is also handling Lawrence’s application to appeal the refusal of his legal costs.

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In a statement today, Mulholland Law confirmed that it was “instructed by our clients” to file an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

A solicitor of the firm, Ciarán Mulholland, stated that the applications of McGregor and Lawrence “raise serious legal issues” arising from the Court of Appeal’s judgment in July.

“We now seek that the Supreme Court acknowledge the exceptional public interest in adjudicating on these applications favourably,” Mulholland added.

He said that McGregor’s application “focuses on his Constitutional right to silence, properly exercised on occasions and enshrined both in Bunreacht na hÉireann and the European Convention on Human Rights.

“However, lip service was applied in a highly prejudicial and unfair manner before the lower Courts against my Client and it is only right and just that this is considered and clarified by our Supreme Court.”

Last July, McGregor tried to introduce new evidence from neighbours suggesting she was bruised in a fight with her then-partner, not him, but the evidence was withdrawn on the first day of the appeal.

Ms Hand called the claims false, and her lawyers asked the Court of Appeal to refer the matter to the DPP for possible perjury.

A man and woman were arrested by gardaí last week in connection with this, though both were later released without charge.

Additional reporting from Niall O’Connor

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