Teacher Enoch Burke says he attempted to draw funds from his bank account today, but that his card would not work because his account has been frozen by the State who are seeking to claim fines from Mr Burke arising from his refusal to stop attending Wilson’s Hospital School after a row about transgenderism.
In a post on X, Mr Burke said in a video that he was being “penalised” because he was standing up to “anti-Christian beliefs”.
The German and History teacher said that his bank account was where his salary was received, and that today was payday but that he couldn’t access his account at his bank in Castlebar today, or withdraw money to pay bills.
“There are drug barons and murderers and thieves walking freely on our streets – but all of the stops can be pulled out for me,” he said.
He said that in schools throughout the country children were being told “they can decide their own gender” and that they could be pansexual or non-binary.
A post shared on X said: “The bank account of teacher Enoch Burke has been frozen by the Irish Government after he refused to affirm transgender ideology in his school and address a child with they/them pronouns”.
“Enoch Burke’s salary, which he earns as a teacher at Wilson’s Hospital School, has also been stopped. Enoch Burke attempted to withdraw money from his Bank of Ireland account this morning but was unable to access the account.”
“There is over €40,000 in this account, the hard-earned savings of many years. This money has now been frozen by the Irish Government and Courts, with the intention of seizing it next week, in an unprecedented and utterly illegal move,” he claimed.
“Enoch Burke upheld the Christian ethos of his school, and was jailed as a result. He now faces the robbery of his livelihood. If the Church had not betrayed him by their treacherous silence, this saga would never have happened. The silence of the Church on this matter is a disgrace.”
Commenting further, Mr Burke said it was “unheard of to appoint a receiver .. for future salary” and that the move to garnish his bank account was “unprecedented”.
On Tuesday, the High Court appointed a receiver – Myles Kirby of Kirby Healy Chartered Accountants – to collect the unpaid fines from the salary of Mr Burke which amount to almost €80,000. An order was also granted to freeze the teacher’s bank account to garnish the money owed.
Mr Justice David Nolan made the conditional order of garnishee – which is a court order that enables a creditor to recover a debt and will temporarily freeze the bank account – over Mr Burke’s bank account.
The actions are seen as an effort to force Mr Burke to comply with an injunction requiring him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School.
Judge Nolan said that the reason Mr Burke had spent so long in Mountjoy Prison was because of his “total and utter rejection of the norms of a civilised society to abide by the rule of law.