Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins were set to be called by MMA fighter Conor McGregor to give evidence in his appeal against a High Court jury’s finding that he had raped Ms Hand.
Their testimony would have supported McGregor’s claim that he was not responsible for the bruising on her body – but Ms Hand has described this evidence as "lies".
She said the couple was not living across the road from her at the time they claimed to have witnessed and heard the "assault". Their evidence was dropped by McGregor’s legal team at the last moment.
Conor McGregor leaving the High Court, in Dublin, in 2025.
High Court judge Emily Egan yesterday heard that Ms O’Reilly and Mr Cummins had been served with notice that they were being sued by Ms Hand. Neither had made any response, the court heard.
Siún Leonowicz, Ms Hand’s barrister, told Judge Egan that both defendants had received the legal papers at their home in Cherry Orchard, Dublin. They had also received a "warning letter" stating Ms Hand intended to seek judgment in default of appearance, the court heard.
Ms Leonowicz said the case related to "malicious abuse of the process of the court". She said it arose "as the result of the conduct of the appeal", in relation to the original claim of rape that Ms Hand brought against McGregor.
Judge Egan said she was satisfied both defendants had been properly notified about the case and said she would grant an order for judgment in default of defence against both Ms O’Reilly and Mr Cummins.
She said she would also order "that damages be assessed by a judge sitting alone", meaning a jury will not be required to calculate the compensation due to Ms Hand. She placed a stay on the order for four weeks and said Ms Hand was entitled to her legal costs in bringing the case.
Nikita Hand addressing the public outside the High Court.
In late 2024, McGregor lost his appeal against a High Court jury’s finding that he raped Ms Hand in a hotel in Dublin in December 2018.
He had intended to call evidence from Ms O’Reilly and Mr Cummins, who claimed they were former neighbours and had suggested Ms Hand’s then-boyfriend attacked her after she had been out with Mr McGregor.
McGregor said this would have provided a "plausible explanation" for the bruising on her body, which he claimed he did not cause, saying the sex he had with Ms Hand was consensual.
In a sworn statement, Ms O’Reilly said she and her partner lived in a house in Drimnagh, Dublin 12, in December 2018 directly across the road from Ms Hand and her then-partner Stephen Redmond.
She claimed that on December 9, she was woken to the sound of screaming and shouting. She said that, on looking out the window, she saw "Ste push [Nikita] and Nikita fell to the floor", adding: "I could see Ste’s arms moving up and down as if he was hitting Nikita.
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"I also saw him moving his hips in a way that indicated to me that he was kicking her."
Mr Cummins swore an affidavit stating he heard "screams and shouting coming from Ste and Nikita’s house across the road’ and it was obvious to him there was ‘a row going on."
Ms Hand told the appeal court she had never been assaulted by Mr Redmond at any stage during their relationship. She said neither Ms O’Reilly nor Mr Cummins was living across the road from her at the time, and the content of their affidavits was "entirely concocted" to advance McGregor’s interests.
She alleged McGregor "maliciously adopted" their statements as part of a strategy to undermine her reputation and the decision of the jury.
The ground of appeal was abandoned by McGregor on the morning his appeal was due to begin. The Court of Appeal said the application to introduce fresh evidence was abandoned in "somewhat mysterious" circumstances.
Protests in solidarity with Nikita Hand, in Dublin, during the High Court trial.
The court said that McGregor’s conduct in publicly calling into question the correctness of the jury’s verdict and Ms Hand’s testimony should be marked by a palpable sign of the court’s displeasure and disapproval".
It was agreed that Ms Hand had been "put through the wringer" and awarded her legal costs at the highest possible level for this aspect of McGregor’s appeal.
It also referred Ms O’Reilly’s and Mr Cummins’s affidavits to the DPP to investigate whether they had committed perjury.
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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