This report contains details of a sexual nature that some readers may find distressing.

As the jury begins its deliberations in the civil trial of Conor McGregor and James Lawrence, the MMA fighter's barrister has asked the jury to set their feelings about him to one side, and focus solely on the evidence.

Mr McGregor is being sued for damages, arising out of the alleged rape of a 35-year-old woman in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel in December 2018.

Mr McGregor’s barrister, Remy Farrell SC, described his client as someone who elicits strong views.

“Some people love him, some don’t,” he said.

"The fact he left his family home on a Saturday and ended up drinking with women in a penthouse suite, is unlikely to endear him greatly to you,” he added.

He urged the jurors to look only at the evidence.

Ms Hand claims Mr McGregor raped her, after pinning her on a bed in the hotel and choking her three times.

He accepts they had sex on two occasions that day, but claims it was fully consensual.

In his closing address to the jury, Mr Farrell SC accused Ms Hand of having, “extraordinary selective amnesia,” in relation to what happened.

He described her version of events as a “carefully curated account,” and asked the jury to consider that if it was anyone other than Mr McGregor before them, “would the door of the jury room hit you on the backside before you’re back out to dismiss the case.”

Conor McGregor at the High Court in the second week of a civil action against Mr McGregor. Photo: Leon Farrell/© RollingNews.ie