By Jessica Magee
Dublin man Austin Doherty who was left with life-changing injuries after an unprovoked assault has told a court he feels “trapped in his own body”.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that three men waited an hour until Mr Doherty left a Dublin nightclub in the early hours before attacking him and leaving him unconscious on a roadway.
When ambulance staff found Mr Doherty, they said his head was “nearly concave” after he had been extensively kicked, stamped upon and beaten.
Conti Birali (28) was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Mr Doherty on the Old Navan Road, Mulhuddart on July 31, 2022.
Birali, with an address at Parlickstown Drive, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, further admitted committing violent disorder with others on the same occasion.
A co-accused, Craig Maples (28), of Green Briar, Verdemont, Blanchardstown was sentenced last month to seven years in prison after he also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assault causing serious harm to Mr Doherty on the night in question.
In a victim impact statement which he read to the court, Mr Doherty said he would never be able to walk again.
“It’s like I’m in my own prison,” he said, adding that he now has to depend on others and cannot do simple things that others take for granted.
Mr Doherty said he can no longer play football with his young son or lift him up. He said when he was in a coma, he missed important events in his children’s lives, including his daughter’s first day at school.
He said he gets very angry and frustrated and lashes out, adding that he finds it hard to control those feelings. Mr Doherty said his mind is “tormented” every night and hat this should never have happened to him.
Detective Garda Sean Gallagher told Gráinne O’Neill BL, prosecuting, that Mr Doherty was talking to a female acquaintance in a casino in Mulhuddart when Birali came up and hit him with a bottle a number of times, causing a laceration to his head.
Birali had been previously in a relationship with the woman, the court heard.
This initial attack was captured on CCTV which was played to the court and showed Birali being ejected from the club.
Birali then phoned two other co-accused men who arrived separately, and the three men then began to circle the area around the club in wait for Mr Doherty.
Meanwhile, security at the club were concerned for Mr Doherty’s safety and tried to persuade him to get a taxi, but he believed he was safe and left the club on foot shortly after 4am.
Counsel said Mr Doherty was allowed to walk for about 13 minutes before he was “hunted down” by the three accused, two of whom were in the jeep and one on foot.
Two of the accused men were captured on CCTV attacking Mr Doherty, stamping on his head and kicking him repeatedly.
Birali got out of the jeep and joined in the assault a few minutes before it ended by kicking the victim three times in the back.
All three accused then left in the jeep and passersby rang an ambulance.
Paramedics described finding Mr Doherty completely unresponsive, with his head “nearly concave” and injuries to his lip. There was a broken bottle on the ground beside him.
The court heard that Birali left the jurisdiction and went to the Canaries but returned and was arrested in November 2022.
He told gardaí he had been highly intoxicated and had an argument with his ex-girlfriend.
Birali said he was hit with a bottle and thought it had been done by Mr Doherty so he “threw a few punches and bottled him”.
He said he rang a few people and admitted that they would not have been involved were it not for him.
“All I can say is, I attacked him outside the shanty because I had a couple of drinks and I wanted to hurt him. But I didn’t intend to leave him in the way that I did and I’m very sorry for that.”
The court heard that CCTV footage made it very clear that Mr Doherty played no role in any argument and that the assault was completely unprovoked.
The victim, who was aged 38 at the time, is now a wheelchair user and needs daily care. The prognosis is that his condition is unlikely to improve, the court heard.
Birali has three previous convictions, including a drugs offence and two minor traffic offences.
Mark Lynam SC, defending Birali, said his client pleaded at the earliest opportunity and had written a letter expressing his remorse.
In his letter, Birali apologises to Mr Doherty, his family and his children and said the attack was a “stupid alcoholic decision that I wish I could take back.”
Birali described his actions as “absolutely unforgiveable” and “a disgrace” and said he was very sorry for the harm he had caused.
Birali said he wakes up every day and prays that Mr Doherty has made some improvement.
Mr Lynam says Birali fully accepts that he was the instigator and was globally responsible for the attack as part of a joint enterprise.
Counsel said Birali did not kick or stamp the victim in the head.
The court heard Birali’s father died shortly before the offence; his mother was terminally ill and a close friend had died by suicide.
Birali had turned to alcohol but since then has gone to counselling and has managed to deal with his addiction, the court heard.
Counsel said Birali never intended for the level of violence that happened and that he had displayed an irrational anger fuelled by alcohol.
Handing down a nine-year sentence, Judge Martin Nolan said that when people kick, stamp on and strike someone on the ground, these type of injuries can be expected.
Judge Nolan said Mr Doherty had sustained severe head injuries and brain trauma and has been left with lifelong serious disabilities.
“He cannot work. He cannot care for his children. He needs help with everyday living,” said Judge Nolan.
The judge said Birali was “the author of the entire incident” and should have simply gone home.
The judge agreed with a categorisation by the Director of Public Prosecutions that this offence was in the higher range of seriousness in the offence of assault causing serious harm.
Judge Nolan accepted that Birali had made a “true expression of remorse” and probably would not reoffend to any great degree.