A man and a woman who swore affidavits on behalf of Conor McGregor ahead of his appeal against a sexual assault finding have been charged with perjury.

Samantha O'Reilly, 38, and Steven Cummins, 39, appeared before Dublin District Court on Tuesday charged with knowingly providing false statements in judicial proceedings.

The charges follow a police investigation into evidence filed in the mixed martial arts fighter's failed appeal against a civil court finding that he sexually assaulted Nikita Hand in December 2018.

In an affidavit, O'Reilly claimed she had witnessed a physical row between Ms Hand and her then-partner at the same time as the incident at a Dublin hotel.

The evidence was expected to be included in McGregor's appeal, but was abandoned without explanation.

Justice Brian O'Moore said at the time that the manner in which the new evidence was abandoned "in the last moment… remain mysterious".

Ms Hand denied any altercation with her former partner, and she told the court heard last year that the claims from O'Reilly and Cummins were "lies".

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O'Reilly, who was Ms Hand's neighbour, faces two counts of giving false statements in January and May of last year.

The pair were arrested last year after a court in Dublin referred claims they made as part of McGregor's appeal to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) over perjury concerns.

O'Reilly and Cummins were arrested at their home in Ballyfermot on Tuesday morning. They were both remanded on continuing bail until 9 November.

Former UFC champion McGregor told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand, and he launched an appeal after a jury of eight women and four men found him civilly liable for assault in November 2024.

He lost his appeal against the civil jury's finding on all grounds in July 2025.

Ms Hand was awarded €248,603 (£213,000) in damages, and McGregor was also ordered to pay about €1.3m (£1.1m) in legal costs following the trial.