A woman who was with Nikita Hand at the hotel where she claims she was raped by Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor has told the High Court she was “surprised” to learn of the alleged sexual assault.

Ms Hand, who is seeking civil damages against McGregor and another man, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the alleged incident in December 2018.

Mr McGregor faces an allegation in the civil action that he “raped and brutally beat” Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin.

She is also suing another man, James Lawrence, for sexual assault on December 9, 2018.

Ms Hand, who has no automatic right to anonymity, accused Mr McGregor of holding her down and raping her in a south Dublin hotel bedroom.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Danielle Kealey told the court she was with Ms Hand in south Dublin as part of a Christmas work party.

Ms Kealey, who was called to give evidence by Remy Farrell SC, for Mr McGregor, said she did not know Ms Hand well.

She told the court they were picked up by Mr McGregor from the salon at around 10am on Sunday morning and after picking up Mr Lawrence were taken to the Beacon Hotel.

Asked to describe the mood in the penthouse, she said everything was good and everyone was in good shape.

She told the court she knew Ms Hand and Mr McGregor had gone into the bedroom but didn’t “know a lot about it”.

She said she didn’t know what was going on in the room and that when she returned to the penthouse’s master suite, “everything was fine.”

“Everything was good and nobody was in bad shape. I didn’t notice anything that happened,” Ms Kealey said.

Asked if anyone seemed upset, she said “no.”

Ms Kealey said she was contacted by Ms Hand in the days after the alleged incident, claiming she had been raped.

Asked about her reaction, Ms Kealey said: “I was surprised because I didn’t see anything.

“I told him I didn’t see or hear anything.”

She also told the court that Ms Hand asked her to delete messages between the two.

The court also heard from Dr Charlotte Murphy, a forensic scientist from Forensic Science Ireland, who examined evidence taken from Ms Hand and her clothes 10 hours after the alleged incident.

The court heard that the straps of a jumpsuit worn by Ms Hand were damaged beyond normal wear and tear.

She said a belt was pulled off, which was consistent with the shooting.

Dr. Murphy said traces of semen were found on Ms Hand’s jumpsuit and trousers and that DNA taken from her vaginal swabs was a thousand million times more likely to match Mr McGregor’s DNA than anyone someone else.

Mr McGregor did not appear in court on Wednesday because he had food poisoning overnight, according to Mr Farrell.

Judge Owens said the case can continue because it is a civil case.