Dee Devlin likes "McGregor forever" post in wake of Conor McGregor losing High Court case

Dee Devlin has liked a post captioned "McGregor forever" in the wake of a jury ordering her fiance Conor McGregor to pay damages to a woman who accused the UFC star of raping her.

At the High Court in Dublin on Friday, a jury of four men and eight women sided with Nikita Hand, 35, a former hair colourist from Drimnagh in Dublin, who said she was brutally raped by McGregor, 36, in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford on December 9, 2018.

Ms Hand has been awarded almost €250,000 in damages after the jury found that McGregor assaulted Ms Hand - but found that co-respondent James Lawrence, did not.

Read More:Conor McGregor was a hero to millions but his reputation is now in tatters

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Speaking to the media outside the court, an emotional Ms Hand said: "I would like to start off by saying I'm overwhelmed and touched by the support I have received from everybody.

"First, I want to thank the legal team and my three barristers, John Gordon, Ray Boland and Sean. They have been amazing from start to finish.

"I want to thank Mr Justice Alexander Owens, the jury, all the witnesses, I want to thank the doctors, nurses and everyone at the sexual assault treatment unit in the Rotunda Hospital for looking after me, especially my own doctor Frank Clarke.

"I want to thank the Rape Crisis Centre, especially Cliona, who has been by my side throughout this entire period. I want to thank all the guards and the ambulance crew. I want to thank all the women and men out there who have supported me throughout this trial.

"For every person who reached out to me a card, a letter, e-mail, everything, it hasn't gone unnoticed. Thank you. I really appreciate it so much,” she continued. "I want to thank my partner Gary, who has been so supportive for the last four years and has held my hand throughout his trial every day and every other day.

"I want to thank my Mam and all my family and friends. Lastly, I want to thank my daughter Freya, who I'm most grateful for. She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice.

"I want to show Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself. If something happens to you, no matter who the person is and justice will be served. To all the victims of sexual assault. I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up. You have a voice and keep on fighting for justice.

"I know this has impacted not only my life, my daughter's, my family and friends tremendously, and it's something that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. But now that justice has been served, I can now try and move on and look forward to the future with my family and friends and daughter."

McGregor refused to comment to the media after leaving the court but later said on social media that he would appeal the decision.

He wrote: “I will be appealing today's decision. The judge's instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages.

"I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed. I am with my family now, focused on my future. Thank you to all my support worldwide."

Dee Devlin, McGregor's long-term partner and the mother of his four children, accompanied the UFC fighter to the court hearing on Friday.

And the Walkinstown native later liked a picture of the fighter on the social media account of the McGregor fan group The Notorious Billionaire, captioned "McGregor Forever."

McGregor has been found liable for an assault which the court heard Ms Hand say was a rape at the Beacon Hotel’s penthouse suite on the night of December 9, 2018, but McGregor denied he had raped her.

He is not, however, a convicted rapist and has not been found guilty of any criminal offence.

McGregor took to the witness stand in the case and insisted he did not rape Ms Hand - while Ms Hand also gave evidence of what she described as a “brutal” attack in which the MMA fighter put her in a chokehold and raped her.

McGregor, she said, told her while choking her “how he felt when I was in the Octagon and I had to tap myself out three times”.

She went on to say that McGregor “flipped” her around and “choked” her after “my only defence was to bite”. "I was trying to fight as much as I could. I bit him and he didn't like it, it was like he was just behind me then. He choked me, put his arm around me.

"I just remember him behind me and I think I was sitting on the bed. He put his arm around my neck and choked me three times." The third choke, she said, lasted longer and was "more strong". "I just completely thought I was going to die."

In his closing speech to the jury, Ms Hand’s defence counsel John Gordon called McGregor a “devious coward” and a “liar” and said the evidence against him in this case is "embarrassing and overwhelming.”

He also suggested that McGregor and Lawrence had been in “cahoots” with one another from the start and had tried to make his client look like “an even bigger hussy.”

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