A Garda investigation into a break-in and attack at the home of the woman who accused Conor McGregor of rape has been shelved after investigators couldn’t trace the getaway car.
Gardai have been investigating the horrific attack that saw Nikita Hand’s partner stabbed at her then home in Drimnagh, Co Dublin in June of 2024.
However, sources say the investigation is effectively at an end after efforts to identify the attackers yielded no results. It is understood Ms Hand, who gave a statement to gardaí about the horrific ordeal, has been informed of the development.
The incident involved a group of men wearing balaclavas breaking her windows and stabbing her partner in a terrifying attack that occurred five months before Ms Hand’s high-profile civil rape trial began.
Nikita Hand speaking to the media after attending the Court of Appeal(Image: SAM BOAL/COLLINS PHOTOS)
Gardai made efforts to identify a vehicle believed to have been used by the gang as they escaped. However, efforts to trace its movements have proven difficult, and the attackers have not been identified to date.
“This investigation is effectively dead. No file was sent to the DPP. No one will ever say it’s fully closed because any new piece of information could reopen it,” a source said.
Ms Hand, who is publishing a new memoir about her experiences, declined to comment when contacted. Some of the details of the attack at her home emerged during the civil rape trial but could not be reported until after a verdict was reached.
The court was told that her home was invaded by a “group of men with balaclavas” who “burst” into her bedroom – and her partner received “stab wounds” in the process.
Her young daughter, who was in another room, dialled 999 and gardai soon arrived, the court was told. The windows of the house were broken during the incident, the court heard.
Nikita Hand
Ms Hand’s Counsel said he was not laying the attack at the feet of Conor McGregor but said “we do make the claim that it is not an untargeted attack and it arose from supporters of the first named defendant (McGregor).
Mr Gordon said the incident is relevant to his client’s claim because she had to move from the Drimnagh area. He said he was not making the claim that Mr McGregor had anything to do with the incident.
Judge Owens said it was a matter that would be left open to “big speculation” if Ms Hand’s counsel were not tendering any evidence that Mr McGregor had anything to do with it.
Mr Gordon said he believed the matter was relevant to his client’s “state of anxiety” and her move from the Drimnagh area.
Conor McGregor and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in November
Remy Farrell SC for Conor McGregor said it seemed Ms Hand was “acknowledging this incident which we know nothing about has nothing to do with us.” He said it seemed “extraordinary” to “smuggle something like that into the case” and called it an unprecedented claim.
Judge Owens ruled that the matter was “completely and utterly irrelevant” and stated that it shouldn’t be referred to at the time. Later during the case Dr Frank Clarke said in the witness box that his client had to be put back on medication following a “very difficult event.”
Dr Clarke was referring to his most recent meeting with Ms Hand earlier that year. After he stated this the jury were briefly sent out of the room – and Judge Owens stated that it appeared the doctor was referring to the incident in which Ms Hand’s home was broken into.
He said now that the jury had heard about this “difficult event,” they might hear more about it. However the incident never came up after this point throughout the trial.
Conor McGregor and Dee Devlin after the outcome of the case
The jury ultimately believed Ms Hand’s account that she was raped by McGregor at the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford, Dublin in December 2018.
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 2024.
The jury then awarded €248,603.60 in general and special damages, taking into account Ms Hand’s loss of earnings since she stopped working and her future loss of earnings.
The UFC fighter tried and failed to appeal the decision in the Court of Appeal. He further tried to take the case to the Supreme Court – which refused to hear it.
In its decision late last year the Supreme Court said that it is “not satisfied that any matter of general public importance arises in this application justifying an appeal to this Court.”
Nikita Hand’s new book ‘Not the Perfect Victim’ (Image: Nikita Hand)
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.”
Nikita Hand
Ms Hand is publishing her memoir about what she went through later this year. The book will mark the first time she has spoken about everything since the major High Court case and McGregor’s ensuing appeal loss.
In a statement publishers Hachette Ireland said it is proud to announce the book – titled ‘Not the Perfect Victim’ – which they said is “a courageous and ground-breaking book by Nikita Hand.” “This is a singular story of survival, truth telling and unflinching personal bravery.”
The book, which is available for pre order, is due to be released on September 22.
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