WATCH: Minister says Conor McGregor accuser Nikita Hand has “done the state some service”

Nikita Hand, a mother of two from Drimnagh, published a book, "Not the Perfect Victim" this week.

He added that she had shown "courage and leadership."

A High Court jury found in November 2024 that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor had assaulted Hand in the Beacon Hotel, Dublin, in December 2018 and awarded her €250,000 in damages.

McGregor denied the allegations and appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal dismissed his case in July 2025.

The three week trial heard that Ms Hand had extensive injuries including large amounts of bruising and required gynecological surgery.

Leader's Questions heard from Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik who said that "the whole country owes a debt of gratitude" to Nikita Hand.

"Thank you, Nikita. So many other people have felt emboldened to speak up about abuse they have experienced because Nikita's courage gave them courage," Bacik said.

"Nikita Hand has talked with extraordinary dignity about suffering the trauma of rape and sexual violence, she has also spoken about the long-term impacts upon her: PTSD, hours-long panic attacks, experiencing her own body, in her words, being turned into a crime scene.

"The multimillionaire sports person who was found liable in a civil court is responsible for causing this loss to Nikita Hand, and his violation has continued long after the assault was over. Nikita should be and is the national treasure, not him."

She added that there is an epidemic of sexual, domestic, and gender-based violence in Irish society, and a culture of misogyny.

Nearly 2,000 women were turned away from domestic violence services due to a lack of state-funded beds.

Women's Aid records that nine women have been killed in Ireland this year already, more than the total number of femicide victims last year.