Supreme Court refuses further appeals by Conor McGregor and James Lawrence

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Supreme Court has refused Conor McGregor permission for a further appeal against the civil jury finding that he sexually assaulted Nikita Hand. The decision was reported on 4 December 2025.

The court also refused James Lawrence permission to appeal the decision not to award him his legal costs. The jury had found that he did not assault Ms Hand.

In November 2024, the High Court jury found Mr McGregor liable for sexually assaulting Ms Hand at the Beacon Hotel on 9 December 2018 and awarded her over €248,000 in damages. Mr McGregor denied rape and said they had consensual sex.

In July 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr McGregor’s appeal, upheld the damages award and directed that Ms Hand was entitled to her legal costs against him. It also rejected Mr Lawrence’s appeal over the refusal of his costs.

The Supreme Court said it was not satisfied that either man had raised a matter of general public importance or that a further appeal would be in the interests of justice. It said Mr McGregor had received a fair hearing despite the admission of his “no comment” answers to gardaí, followed by a full appeal.