School teacher Enoch Burke has been ordered to remain in Mountjoy Prison this afternoon after once again refusing to give assurances that he would comply with an order that would stop him attending Wilson’s Hospital School in Westmeath.
Judge Mr Justice David Nolan confirmed Mr Burke was to remain in jail “with great reluctance” four months after he was freed from prison before the summer holidays began in June. The teacher has spent more than 400 days in jail on three separate occasions since first being imprisoned in September 2022.
Mr Burke, a German and History teacher, was sacked from the school in January 2023, with the issue first arise from a conflict about using transgender pronouns.
A lengthy legal battle has ensued, capturing the attention of the nation, with the teacher appealing his dismissal and remaining on full pay pending the hearing of the appeal.
Mr Burke was imprisoned for the third time last month, after he ignored an injunction granted in 2023 that ordered him to stay away from the Church of Ireland school.
On Friday’s hearing at the High Court, the Judge put it to Mr Burke that he was imprisoned because he would not obey the court order to stay away from the school. Mr Justice David Nolan told Mr Burke that he was again before the court to provide himself with the opportunity to purge his contempt and be released from jail, by agreeing to obey the legal order.
In response, Mr Burke, who was supported by family, said that the High Court had “from the beginning” misconstrued the basis for the disciplinary action brought against him. The young teacher claimed that the action had been brought against him on the grounds of his Christian beliefs against transgenderism which were set out in the book of Genesis and in Chrstian teaching.
However, Judge Nolan responded by telling Mr Burke that he was in court for one reason, and that one issue alone had to be addressed – that being whether or not Mr Burke would purge his contempt.
Judge Nolan told Mr Burke that it was not his desire for him to be in prison, and that the way to leave jail would be to tell the court that he would abide by the order not to attend his former workplace. What followed wasJudge Nolan asking the teacher on ten occasions whether he would abide by the court order, adding: “I would like you to say yes, and then I will let you out of jail.”
Rosemary Mallon BL, the Barrister representing the school, said at the end of August that Mr Burke had begun attending school again after returning to the school grounds. She claimed that Mr Burke, on one occasion, had entered the building and a transition staff meeting. This led to him being returned to Mountjoy in September, by Mr Justice Michael Quinn, after he said he would not abide by the injunction.
In response to Judge Nolan, Mr Burke, rather than answering whether he would abide by the court order, urged him to read the former principal’s report which brought about his initial sacking from the school in 2022.
Mr Burke argued in court that the issue was not whether he would purge his contempt, but about his personal beliefs on transgenderism. He claimed that the report, written by former principal Ms Niamh McShane, was proof of this. Reading from the report, Mr Burke said it stated that concerns existed “around Mr Burke’s public statements of his refusal to accept transgenderism.”
It also stated: “This has implications not only for the particular student but other students who may wish to transition in the future and indeed the entire student population,” he said.
Mr Justice Nolan, replying, said it was “their right if they wished”, to which Mr Burke hit back: “This woman (Ms McShane) was saying that the fact that my having a religious belief was an obstacle in the school.
“She wanted other students to be able to go down the road of puberty blockers, of mutilation, of cross dressing, of being told they might be in the wrong body and I said I cannot become an activist for transgenderism. Now wasn’t that my right if I wished,” he said.
Justice Nolan asked again if Mr Burke was willing to comply with the court order, telling him: “I would like you to say yes so I can let you out of jail”.
At this point, Mr Burke continued reading from the report, stating that in it, the principal said she harboured “serious concerns about how Mr Burke may act in the school in future in circumstances where he has stated his personal views on transgenderism.’
“You know that is illegal,” Mr Burke told the judge, as he complained that judges were “not dealing with the report” in the case. Whilst Justice Nolan continued to ask if he would abide by the order to stay
Mr Burke told the judge “you know that is illegal” and that the judges “were not dealing with the report”. He continued speaking as the judge repeatedly asked would he abide by the order so that he could be released.
The judge then asked Mr Burke: “Why are you not listening to me?” adding, “You are a highly intelligent man.” He also asked Mr Burke if he was “being controlled by somebody else.”
Mr Burke’s mother Martina, present in court, at this point told the judge: “Are you being controlled by somebody else? Yes you are.”
Following numerous interruptions, the judge said: “I have now asked you on 10 occasions will you abide by the court order and it is clear to me you have no intention of abiding by the order.
“In those circumstances, with great reluctance, I have to send you back to jail.”
An update posted to Mr Burke’s X account said that Mr Burke had been sent back to Mountjoy Prison “after refusing to bow to transgenderism.”
A video posted to the account featured Mr Burke’s brother Isaac, mother Martina, and sister Ammi.
The family said that the hearing had been moved to an “empty courtroom” and that the teacher had been “asked again if he would bow to transgenderism and accept the denial of his constitutional rights.”
“All of this goes back to the principal’s report,” Mr Isaac Burke claimed. “Since the beginning, the judges have refused to read that report. In that report she said that Enoch Burke was a danger to students simply because he did not agree with transgenderism. That is a disgrace, and that situation remains today in the High Court.”
Martina Burke went on to say that Education Minister Norma Foley “should be sacked today,” she should be gone.”
“I am looking at the politicians, the few who are saying they are Conservative, what are they doing about it?” Martina Burke said.
At the end of Friday’s hearing, the judge granted an application for the school’s barrister, Rosemary Mallon BL, for her costs – against Mr Burke in favour of the school – and put the matter for mention again on 20th December.
“I hope you have an opportunity to reconsider,” he told Mr Burke.
Loading ...