Courts

Man jailed for nine years after assault outside Dublin nightclub that left victim’s head ‘nearly concave’

Judge says Conti Birali was ‘the author of the entire incident’ that left the victim Austin Doherty with life-changing injuries

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Conti Birali and two associates waited for Mr Doherty to leave a Dublin nightclub in the early hours before attacking him. Photograph: Alan Betson

Jessica Magee
Thu Mar 21 2024 - 20:37

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 for Mr Doherty to leave a Dublin nightclub in the early hours before attacking him and leaving him unconscious on a roadway.

When ambulance staff found the victim, they said his head was “nearly concave” after he had been extensively kicked, stamped upon and beaten.

Conti Birali (28) was on Thursday sentenced to nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm at the Old Navan Road, Dublin 7, on July 31st, 2022.

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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 cannot 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.

Detective Garda Sean Gallagher told Gráinne O’Neill BL, prosecuting, that the victim was talking to a female acquaintance in a nightclub when Birali came up and hit him with a bottle a number of times, causing a laceration to his head.

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 nightclub waiting for the victim to emerge.

Two of the accused men were captured on CCTV attacking the victim, 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.

The court heard that CCTV footage made it very clear that the victim played no role in any argument and that the assault was completely unprovoked.

Mr Doherty, 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.

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 the victim, 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.

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 sustained severe head injuries and brain trauma and has been left with lifelong serious disabilities.

The judge said Birali was “the author of the entire incident” and should have simply gone home.

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