The mother and sister of jailed teacher Enoch Burke, Martina and Ammi Burke, have appeared before Mr Justice Brian Cregan after they were called upon to answer for their actions before the court last Friday, which Judge Cregan is considering as “contempt in the face of the court”.
The actions refer to the actions of the two women during the hearing of a matter brought before the High Court after Enoch Burke argued that there was “material bias” against him with respect to members of a three-party disciplinary appeals panel, DAP, which was convened to consider whether his suspension from Wilson’s Hospital School was lawful.
Justice Cregan said that he had “decided to note the concept of court jurisdiction” at the hearing last Friday, and today invited both mother and daughter to make verbal submissions as to their conduct on that date.
The court stated that there had been “shouting” and “interference with the proceedings” and that “in the interest of the proper administration of justice” it was essential to “maintain order to make sure that all the parties can be heard properly”.
Judge Cregan referred to “shouting” by Martin Burke and her refusal to sit down when instructed to do so.
He said that the “interruping” of Rosemary Mallon BL, counsel for the school, had forced the court to “abandon the proceedings”.
The women were warned that, should the court find them to be in contempt, they would face fines or imprisonment. They were advised that they should prepare to offer a defence or explanation for their behaviour.
They were also advised that they had the right to deliver the submissions or to be represented.
Remarks of Martina Burke
Mrs Burke began her remarks by noting the court’s reference to “interference in administration of justice”, saying that this was “of course very serious”, if what happened in court on Friday was “the administration of justice”.
She went on to refer to a verbal application made by her son on Friday were he requested the contents of an affidavit of barrister Séan Ó Longáin be referred to the DPP “for perjury”.
Burke insisted that on a previous occasion, Ms Mallon had said that the DAP had concluded and that a result of its adjudication was expected.
She said that it was “certainly very sad” that the verbal submission regarding the request for referral to the DPP had not been dealt with by the court last Friday, saying that members of her family, including herself, had to make a seven-hour round trip to deliver a written version of the application.
At times, holding a copy of Bunreacht na héireann aloft, Mrs Burke said, “You made a vow” to “uphold” the Constitution, to which Ammi Burke said, “Yes”, and Isaac Burke said, “Amen”.
She bewailed the ongoing incarceration of her son, saying he is an “upright”, “genuine”, “sincere”, “upright”, “godly”, and “righteous” man who had an “excellent reputation” as a teacher.
Burke claimed that the dismissal of the case on Friday had been an attempt to “cover up” on behalf of the various counsels and the court itself, that she and the Burke family believe that an assertion made by Séan Ó Longáin that the DAP intended to reconvene after it’s initial sitting on the 13th of December was as a result of three, two lengthy, letters Enoch Burke had sent outliing his concerns regarding the fairness of the process.
“We want to cover it all up,” It’s moot”, she said.
“Let Mallon speak! All she wanted on Friday was ‘it’s over! It’s over”, she shouted.
“I have a duty to speak the truth”, she said, accusing the court and counsels of delivering an “arranged” result and using “different strokes for different folks”, saying that “It doesn’t matter if it’s Enoch Burke, but when it’s Nikita Hand, it’s perjury!”, she wailed.
She repeatedly asked Justice Cregan if he would “arrest” Mr. Ó Longáin, with Ammi Burke adding that he had told “blatant lies”.
After saying that the citizens of Ireland “don’t feel safe”, she said that her son “has a right”, and, “That’s the blood that’s dripping from the hands of our judiciary today”.
She claimed that then-principal of Wilson’s Hospital School, Niamh McShane, had said that she was “afraid” of her son’s beliefs because “they go against the promotion of sodomy”.
Waving a copy of the Constitution in the air, she said, “We need to feel safe, I need to feel safe, my son needs to feel safe!” and,
“The judge of all the earth will do right,” referring to “God Almighty”.
“You will stand before Him”, she said, saying that she did not expect “justice” from the DAP.
Justice Cregan told Mrs Burke that, while she was “incensed” that her “son has been imprisoned” her claim that this was as a direct result of his religious beliefs was untrue.
He said that “all the judgements” so far clearly stated that Mr Burke is “entitled to his beliefs” and that she knew “very well” that this is not why he was jailed.
“If he had gone to school and stood outside the gates, he would not have been in prison for a single day,” Judge Cregan said.
“I thought that you would have supported him in his stand against transgenderism”, in the knowledge that he “couldn’t trespass”, he added.
“If he decides he will go to the school every day and stand outside the gate, he will not be put in prison,” he said, to which Mrs Burke wailed back, “You should have protected him!”
The court replied that it had “a duty to protect not only his rights” and that “the school deserves protection also.”
“Why do you say that your son is justified in trespassing?” Judge Cregan asked.
Mrs Burke said that her son, “Went to school for years” and “had an excellent reputation” until Niamh McShane “sent him a letter saying he was expected to use the ‘they’ pronoun”.
“You’re sacrificing the people of this country,” she said, adding that “every Christian will stand up” against transgenderism and accusing Judge Cregan of “flying” off the bench to avoid dealing with it.
“This court will certainly not shy away from dealing with the transgender issue when it comes to the court properly,” he retorted.
“What kind of bench is this?” Mrs Burke said, “The scripture tells us as Christians to speak the truth”, and “It’s a wonderful thing.”
Submission of Ammi Burke
Ammi Burke began her submission by saying that the striking out of Friday’s proceedings was “an appalling abuse of power in this court”, accusing the judge of being “desperate to strike out these proceedings”.
She said that DAP was a “shambolic hearing” and that there had been “private solicitation of documents” amid “a serious matter of perjury,” which she claimed Judge Cregan was “aware of” for “weeks”.
She claimed that Mr. Ó Longáin “swore a lie” on the 6th of January when he said the DAP always intended to have another hearing.
She also claimed that Hugh McDowell BL, and Padraic Lyons SC had “spent hours concocting that lie”, to which her mother chimed in, “Lies are ok”.
Ms Burke repeated a claim from last Friday that the ASTI representative on the now dissolved DAP, Geraldine O’Brien, was still on the panel and “hasn’t resigned”.
She said she had now been supporting her brother for three and a half years, adding, “I won’t sit silently by when Constitutional rights are being denied” and “lies are being told in court”.
“You are one of 11 judges who have denied my brother his Constituional rights,” she said.
“You can still do the right thing,” she said, before her mother exclaimed, “Release him!”
Jusde Cregan addressed Ms Burke, saying, “You are a solicitor and a barrister, you know perfectly well that it is completely unacceptable to interfere.”
“You are a solicitor and an officer of the court, you have no right to make a submission if you are not representing a client, “You know those rules, and yet you have flouted them”, he added.
“What I know, judge, is that we have a Constitution in this country,” she said, to which Judge Cregan agreed, affirming, “We do”.
“What Enoch Burke has been subjected to is the gross violation of that Constitutional right,” she protested, adding, “Most importantly by you and your colleagues.”
“You have a well-paid job,” she said, adding that the court had “defamed and slandered” her brother.
When Judge Cregan said that the “clash of rights can only be adjudicated in the..” he was interrupted by both women, with Martina Burke asking, “Where are transgender rights in the Constitution?” and “How dare you say that!”
“There’s no transgener rights in the Constitution!” Mrs, Burke exclaimed.
Judge Cregan said that he would reserve his judgment on the contempt in the face of the court matters for the 10:30am list next Wednesday.
As he rose, Josiah Burke exclaimed, “You’re fighting against God, Judge Cregan, you won’t win!”, with Martina echoing “, You won’t!”