Barbershop owner jailed for an attack on his housemate who asked him to keep the noise down

By Isabel Hayes

A barbershop owner who left a man with a traumatic brain injury assaulted his housemate two years prior to this attack, a court has heard.

Craig Maples (29) of Green Briar, Verdemont, Blanchardstown, Dublin, is currently serving a seven year sentence for violent disorder and assault causing serious harm to Austin Doherty on Main St, Mulhuddart, on July 21, 2022.

Mr Doherty was left with limited mobility in his upper and lower limbs, requires a wheelchair for long distances and suffered a traumatic brain injury, which has left him with significant impairments, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard last year.

Last December, Maples pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to his housemate at an address in Huntstown, Dublin 15 on January 2, 2020 – some two years prior to his assault on Mr Doherty. This assault had such an impact on the victim that he has since emigrated, the court heard.

Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, told the court on Tuesday that the injured party was asleep in bed in his rented room around 1.30am on the night in question when he was awoken by slamming doors and loud voices.

He didn’t know the name of Maples, his housemate, as he had only moved in a few weeks previously, but he shouted down to him to quieten down.

Maples immediately came upstairs and started shouting and knocking on his bedroom door.

When the injured party told him to go away, Maples returned a few minutes later with two other men and kicked the door down.

One of the other men had a sock filled with heavy items, possibly coins, the court heard, and the three men set upon the injured party.

They hit him six to seven times, leaving the injured party with head wounds and a badly injured arm.

He phoned gardai and his landlady, who was Maples’ aunt. A few minutes later, Maples returned to the bedroom, holding a knife in his hand before he left again.

Gardaí did not respond so the victim got a taxi to hospital.

He had head wounds and required surgery for a fractured elbow.

In a victim impact statement before the court, he outlined how he was left homeless after the attack as he could not return to the house and was unable to work for a lengthy period.

He said he had never been out of work or homeless before and that the attack changed his life. He could no longer work as a security guard as he lost his confidence.

He was sleeping on a friend’s couch for a period but could not claim social welfare as he had no address.

He said he eventually emigrated to Croatia where he could afford to buy his own house, ensuring he never has to house-share again.

The court heard that Maples was arrested, but the other two men were never identified.

Simon Matthews BL, defending, said Maples had a troubled childhood.

When he was aged 12, his father murdered his uncle and was imprisoned.

Maples set up his own barbershop, Faded, in Mulhuddart, in his early twenties but struggled with addiction to prescription tablets and other drugs along with mental health issues.

Mr Matthews said his longterm girlfriend were in court to support him and he is doing well in custody.

Sentencing Maples, Judge Orla Crowe said Maples carried out a “brutal and unjustified attack” on somebody who was entitled to rent a room in a house.

She said Maples had a disproportionate reaction to somebody who was simply asking him to keep the peace.

She sentenced him to two years and three months in prison, which she backdated to when he entered the guilty plea.

She noted this meant he would not spend any further time in prison, but noted she was setting the sentence this way only because Maples was doing well in custody.