Episode 988: Conor McGregor's bid to introduce 'bombshell' new evidence in Nikita Hand civil rape case appeal
The Court of Appeal today heard details of the witness' claims as part of the ex-UFC star's bid to seek a retrial of last year's civil rape case.
Conor McGregor outside court during the civil case taken against him by Nikita Hand. Photo: Collins Courts
A neighbour of Nikita Hand has alleged she saw her being assaulted by her ex-boyfriend just hours after she claims she was raped by Conor McGregor.
The Court of Appeal today heard details of the witness' claims as part of the ex-UFC star's bid to seek a retrial of last year's civil rape case.
However, Ms Hand's legal team branded the claim as lies and said they should not be accepted as part of the appeal.
Niall speaks to Sunday World news editor Eimear Rabbitt about Conor McGregor's high-stakes appeal.
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Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
Pictured: The man Gardaí want to interview over Denis Donaldson murder
Man jailed for plot to kill Johnny Adair and Sam McCrory could hold key to solving 2006 murder This is the man detectives in Donegal want to interview about the murder of Denis Donaldson, the Sunday World can reveal. Antoin Duffy (49) from Mullaghduff, near Kincasslagh, is currently serving a 17-year sentence in Scotland for conspiracy to murder top loyalists Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair and Sam 'Skelly' McCrory. He is a gifted artist whose paintings reach high-end prices on the Irish art market. However, Duffy and a gang of disparate associates had planned to machine-gun the Belfast men near their homes in Ayrshire. The murder plot was rumbled, however, when MI5 learned that Duffy had purchased a deadly AK47 rifle to use in the double murder mission. The powerful rifle was found hidden among Christmas presents in a house in Paisley and Duffy and his mates were charged with conspiracy to murder. The Sunday World has learned that Duffy now qualifies for parole under Scotland's early prison release scheme. Anton Duffy, pictured being interviewed by police in 2013 over a plot to kill Johnny Adair And he could soon be heading back to Donegal, for questioning in relation to the murder of former IRA man and top Sinn Féin aide Denis Donaldson. The development emerged during a Coroners Court sitting in Letterkenny, when a judge asked a senior Garda officer to account for a lengthy delay in bringing the Donaldson case to court. The officer informed the judge that DNA evidence had been recovered from the Donaldson murder scene, which was found to be a match for an unnamed man, currently serving a lengthy sentence in another jurisdiction. And the officer also revealed Garda detectives were in the process of arranging for this individual to be interviewed in Donegal at the earliest opportunity. Last week, the Sunday World learned Antoin Duffy is now eligible to apply for parole due to having served over half of his 17-year sentence. And we have also learned the Scottish Prison Authorities may object to Duffy's early release, due to his involvement in a number of disruptive incidents. Last Saturday, Johnny Adair, who was targeted in Antoin Duffy's murder conspiracy, said he was aware the Donegal man could soon be applying for parole. He said: 'At this stage, no one knows exactly when Duffy will be applying for parole. But when he does, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens next.' Former UDA boss Johnny Adair. 'I knew nothing about this man until the police picked me out of a line at Glasgow Airport coming back from holiday. 'I was complaining that I was a victim of police harassment, but the detective took me to an office where two MI5 officers were waiting for me. 'The MI5 men explained they had arrested Antoin Duffy from Donegal for conspiracy to murder Skelly and I. 'It made sense because Skelly and I regularly visited a Belfast man who was in jail with Duffy. 'We both gave evidence at his trial and I came away with the impression Duffy was a dangerous individual, who was capable of anything,' said Adair. 'From now on, it's going to be very interesting in regard to Denis Donaldson.' Last week, former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams successfully sued the BBC over a Spotlight programme it made which quoted an unnamed source as saying Adams gave the go-ahead for the murder of Denis Donaldson in 2006. Adams denied any involvement in the Donaldson murder and, in a lengthy five-week libel trial which ended on Friday, he robustly defended his position. Agreeing Adams had been defamed, a jury awarded him £84,000. Outside the court in Dublin on Friday, Adams called on the Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan to meet with the Donaldson family as soon as possible. Former Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. He said: 'I am very mindful of the Donaldson family in the course of this long trial and indeed the victims' families who have had to watch all of this. 'I want to say that the Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan should meet the family of Denis Donaldson as quickly as possible and that there's an onus on both governments and everyone else, and I include myself in this, to try and deal with legacy issues as best that we can.' However, Denis Donaldson's daughter Jane hit out at Adams' legal teams' approach to her evidence. In a statement also issued on Friday, Jane Donaldson, who is married to a senior Sinn Féin figure, said: 'Although the plaintiff claimed sympathy for my family, his legal team objected to me giving evidence to challenge the account of his witnesses. Antoin Duffy 'The jury heard sensitive, privileged family information tossed around, without our consent, but did not hear my testimony. 'Limitless legal resources and vast expense were invested in this case, while there is supposedly a live Garda investigation into my daddy's murder.' And calling for a public inquiry into the matter, she added: 'The public interest can now only be fully served by some form of public inquiry with a cross-border dimension which is ECHIR Article 2 compliant, empowered to investigate the whole truth about the conspiracy to expose and murder my daddy.' Jane Donaldson also revealed how she gave evidence, but without the presence of the jury. Denis Donaldson She said the family did not accept the claim of responsibility issued by the Real IRA, three years after her father was murdered. And she insisted that her father had been 'thrown to the wolves' as part of a conspiracy to expose him as an agent. Denis Donaldson and Gerry Adams were among a small group of men who were invited to join the republican movement in the early 1960, shortly after the failure of the IRA's 'Border Campaign'. They were involved in supporting the campaign for Civil Rights. But a major split occurred in the Republican movement, and they both sided with the Provisionals and remained close allies. Denis Donaldson in prison with Bobby Sands in the 1970s At one stage, Donaldson was even asked to go on an IRA trip to meet rogue Arab State leader Muamar Gaddafi. They persuaded the Libyan leader to arm the IRA as it geared up for a war with the British over Northern Ireland. Following the Good Friday Agreement, Donaldson was appointed Head of Administration for Sinn Féin at Stormont. He was arrested as part of a PSNI inquiry into an alleged Sinn Féin spy ring, but the case was later dropped. Weeks later, however, Donaldson fronted a televised press conference, where he admitted having been a long-term British agent operating inside Sinn Féin. And he disappeared without trace. But in March 2006, a Sunday World investigation traced Donaldson to a remote cottage near Glenties in Co. Donegal. And in a secretly recorded interview, Donaldson claimed he had been cast aside by his British paymasters in order to 'save David Trimble', the Unionist First Minister who had signed the Good Friday Agreement, which paved the way for the power-sharing government at Stormont. From the Short Strand in east Belfast, Donaldson was sworn into the IRA at a secret ceremony in Ormeau Park in 1964. And six years later, he took part in the defence of St Matthew's Catholic Church, holding at bay a mob of loyalists who were intent on burning it to the ground. But a Historic Enquiries Team (HET) investigation into the death if Henry McIlhone decades later revealed he hadn't been killed by loyalist gunmen as believed. He had, in fact, been shot dead by Denis Donaldson, who was unable to control a Thompson sub-machine he was firing. In the same incident, Donaldson shot and wounded IRA leader Billy McKee. Speaking to the Sunday World after the report was published, Henry McIhone's widow Sue said: 'I was told lies about this. I only discover the truth when the HET detectives called to see me. 'Henry wasn't a member of the IRA and I was always told he had been shot bt loyalists. I knew nothing about Denis Donaldson.'
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Sinn Féin urge British government to abide by Sean Brown public inquiry order
Sinn Féin has again urged the British government to abide by court rulings ordering a public inquiry into the murder of GAA official Sean Brown in 1997. A coroner, High Court judge and three judges in the Court of Appeal have all ruled that a public inquiry is the only lawful remedy. The Irish Government has also backed calls by Mr Brown's family for a public inquiry. But the British government last week lodged papers seeking the permission of the UK Supreme Court to appeal against an order mandating such an inquiry. Am uncompleted inquest into his killing by loyalist paramilitaries heard that several British state agents were among 25 people linked by intelligence to the murder. Speaking after meeting Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn in Belfast this morning to discuss legacy issues, Sinn Féin's north Belfast MP John Finucane said the party had criticised the decision to appeal the ruling. Asked if the Irish Government should make a public inquiry into the killing a "red line" issue in negotiations with the UK about how to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland's Troubles, Mr Finucane said it was a legal issue, not a political one. "It's not necessarily about what should be a political red line," he said. He said: "It's what the courts have said, and the courts have made it very clear that the only vehicle that exists that can provide truth and justice and give Bridie and her family answers is a full public inquiry. "That was made clear by the Coroner, it was made clear by a High Court judge, it was made clear by the Court of Appeal, and was endorsed also by our Chief Constable. "So these are people independent of the Brown family who have all made that legal assessment, and I think that's the assessment that should be followed by the British government."
Sunday World
14 hours ago
- Sunday World
Kinahan gangster Peadar Keating told Cartel boss's right-hand-man McGovern to flee country
Sean McGovern was warned to get out of Ireland because Gardaí were closing in on him over the murder of 'Duck Egg' Kirwan McGovern was flown by the Irish Air Corps from Dubai and brought to court in Dublin under Garda escort Sean McGovern will face trial for murder and other gang-related charges Sean McGovern fled to Dubai after being warned by Kinahan gangster Peadar Keating the Gardaí were coming for him, the Sunday World can reveal. McGovern was brought before a sitting of the Special Criminal Court on Thursday evening after being extradited from Dubai following a lengthy legal battle. The Drimnagh native, previously described as Daniel Kinahan's right-hand man, showed no emotion as he was charged with four offences under Ireland's anti-gangland laws, as well being charged with the murder of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan. Wearing a T-shirt and sporting a shaven head, the 39-year-old stared stoney-faced into the distance as the charges were read out before the three-judge court. He was then transferred to Portlaoise Prison, where he is now being housed in the high-security jail's A5 wing, along with other protected inmates. Today, the Sunday World can reveal how: Sean McGovern fled to Dubai after being warned the net was closing in on him over Noel Kirwan's murder. Rumours McGovern had been given bail in Dubai were untrue and he was kept in a hell-hole prison. The Kinahans have been converting their assets to cryptocurrency and using a technique called 'block-hopping' to hide from law officials. McGovern landed in Baldonnell Airport on Thursday evening after being flown out of Dubai International Airport by the Irish Air Corps under high security. Sean McGovern will face trial for murder and other gang-related charges Niall Donald: Cartel lieutenant McGovern's extradition will be causing Daniel Kinahan some sleepless nights One source told the Sunday World that McGovern may well be 'relieved' to be back in Ireland after spending months in a hell-hole prison in Dubai. 'There were always rumours going around that he got bail, but the truth is he was hasn't seen sunlight for months. 'He received no special treatment in Dubai and was being held under really harsh conditions in the prison.' He added: 'I would imagine he was relived to be back in Ireland, even if he is facing a possible life sentence.' McGovern's extradition is a major blow to the Kinahan Cartel and shows that the Gulf State is no longer a safe haven for the gang's leadership. It also marks a major success for the Gardaí and the Government, who have had to show both persistence and patience in dealing with the autocratic and closed system in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For the years, the Kinahans appeared to be untouchable in the Gulf, where they openly ran businesses and purchased properties. A source told the Sunday World that McGovern had decided to get out of Ireland after receiving a warning from Kinahan associate Peadar Keating. Like McGovern, Keating was a loyal lieutenant of Kinahan Cartel boss Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh for decades in Ireland. Peadar Keating told McGovern to leave Ireland He is currently in prison over an attempt to kill Hutch loyalist James 'Mago' Gately in a plot that was directed by Daniel Kinahan from Dubai. After Keating was arrested over the Mago murder plot, he is said to have warned McGovern to get out of the country before gardaí worked their way up the ladder to him. 'He was told by Keating that it was now or never and to get out while he still could and that it was only going one way.' Following McGovern's arrival in Dubai in 2017, he was taken into Daniel Kinahan's inner circle with the Cartel boss arranging for him to live in a plush apartment in Dubai's Marina District. By the time the US Treasury sanctioned the top-tier members of the group, McGovern found his face up there with Christy Kinahan Snr and his sons Daniel and Christopher Jnr, along with their money launderer Johnny Morrissey and the boys' childhood pals Ian Dixon and Bernard Clancy, who also remain in Dubai. During those sanctions the US Department of Treasury described McGovern as: 'Daniel Kinahan's adviser and closest confidant… Evidence indicates that all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through Sean McGovern who managed communications on behalf of Daniel Kinahan.' However, a source told the Sunday World that, despite his alleged senior position in the Cartel, he kept a low-profile. 'He did what he was told to do, when he was told to do it. He wasn't out socialising with Kinahan and the boxing and sports stars all the time. Gardaí believe Daniel Kinahan continues to live openly in Dubai, where his brother Christy Jnr and father Christy Snr are also based. McGovern was flown by the Irish Air Corps from Dubai and brought to court in Dublin under Garda escort Despite rumours to the contrary, Kinahan has made no effort to flee the UAE ahead of an arrest warrant potentially being issued by an Irish court. However, it is believed the Kinahans have made determined attempts to put their wealth beyond the reach of law enforcement officials. The Cartel leadership are said to have converted huge amounts of their drug money and assets into cryptocurrencies. It is suspected the Kinahans are seeking to convert Bitcoin and Ethereum assets into privacy-focused cryptocurrencies that are almost impossible to trace. According to a recent report the Kinahans have been buying Monero or Z-cash cryptocurrencies, which are difficult to trace. They have then been using a process called 'chain-hopping' – where one cryptocurrency is converted from one blockchain to another through decentralised exchanges. Chain-hopping is the latest technique used by money launderers where cryptocurrency owners move rapidly between different cryptocurrencies. Criminals transfer assets from one blockchain to another to erase any traces of illegal activity. This process has been described as similar to laundering money through various small businesses in the real world to make it look clean. Sean McGovern will face trial for murder and other gang-related charges News in 90 June 4th
