Surge in calls to rape crisis helpline after jury decision in Conor McGregor case

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has said it has had to allocate additional staff to its helpline to deal with a surge in the numbers seeking support following Nikita Hand’s successful civil case against mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor.
It said calls to the 24-hour national rape crisis helpline almost doubled over the weekend and the number of first-time callers had increased by 50 per cent.
On Friday a High Court jury awarded €248,603 damages to Ms Hand against Mr McGregor after finding she was assaulted by him in a Dublin hotel.
Ms Hand had alleged, in her civil action for damages, she was raped by the mixed martial arts star in the Beacon hotel on December 9th, 2018. Mr McGregor had denied her claim.
On Monday the fallout from the jury decision continued with calls for a boycott of Mr McGregor’s business interests.
The developer of the Hitman video game series said it was removing content featuring Mr McGregor.
IO Interactive said in a statement on social media: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately.
“We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
Mr McGregor entered the brewing business in recent years with a product called Forged Irish Stout which is sold in some off-licences, supermarkets and several pubs.
Mr McGregor was also behind Proper No 12 Whiskey, which he sold in 2023.
On Sunday the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) urged retailers to stop selling Conor McGregor’s stout and whiskey products in the aftermath of the jury’s decision in the High Court.
Clíona Saidléar, RCNI executive director, said companies making money from his alcohol and other products needed to look at whether they wanted to align themselves with a man found by a civil jury to have sexually assaulted a woman.
Ms Saidléar said on Monday that she had not heard anything back from retailers on the issue.
A number of industry sources maintained that while Forged Irish Stout was on sale in some pubs, it was not widely available.
The Press Up Group, the country’s largest hospitality group, said it “never stocked any of Conor McGregor’s brands”.
One Dublin off-licence operator said on Monday that his store would not be selling McGregor products again.
Damien Martin of Martin’s off-licence in Marino, Dublin, said his store did not generally stock such products but had previously secured a case on request for a customer. He said in the aftermath of the court case last week, his store had no interest doing so in the future.
Supermarkets Lidl and Aldi also said they did not sell any products owned by Conor McGregor.
Supermarkets Supervalu and Tesco did not comment on whether they stocked products linked to Mr McGregor.
The DRCC said that following the jury decision on Friday Ms Hand had urged women to “speak up, use your voice”.
“Her call has been heard loud and clear, with a huge surge in people seeking support from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre over the past weekend.”
The centre’s chief executive, Rachel Morrogh, said: “Our message to anyone who has experienced sexual violence and is considering picking up the phone is that you are one of many people for whom now feels like the right time to make contact. There are experienced counsellors on the line who will listen to you, believe you and support you in whatever way you need.”
The DRCC 24-hour national helpline is 1800 778888.