Judge to decide on whether Enoch Burke should be recommitted to prison

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

A judge is to decide next week whether Enoch Burke should be sent back to prison for contempt of court over breaches of an order preventing him from attending at Wilson’s Hospital School.

Mr Burke and three members of his family are also facing potential contempt of court proceedings over their behaviour in a previous hearing, which could result in fines or imprisonment, a judge said.

The board of management of the Co. Westmeath school said Mr Burke continues to attempt to enter the grounds in breach of a previous court order.

It said it does not want to see him “locked up” but sought his attachment and committal as it wants him to “stop attending the school”.

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan said he hoped to have a decision on the matter no later than Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the court was told that Mr Burke continues to be paid by the Department of Education as a disciplinary appeal hearing was postponed this month.

Mr Burke has previously been sent to prison for contempt of court over the legal dispute with the board of management of the school, stemming from incidents over a request in 2022 from the school’s then-principal to address a student by a new name and pronoun.

Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian who was a teacher of German and history at the school, has repeatedly argued that the direction was unconstitutional and went against his right to express his religious beliefs.

The school has been granted injunctive relief, restraining him from attending the school, but he has continued to attend in breach of the order.

Courts have heard he has been fined in excess of 200,000 euros in relation to the dispute.

The school has brought in security in a bid to prevent Mr Burke from entering the grounds.

The court heard that it has had to engage new security services at increased expense after multiple workers said they were unwilling to take up the work “due to the issue of online abuse”.

The court was told by a legal representative of the school’s board of management that the cost of having a security guard at the school for a 35.5-hour work week is roughly 1,113.45 euros, including VAT.

Mr Justice Cregan said he would be invoking contempt of court jurisdiction in respect of Dr Isaac Burke, Martina Burke, Ammi Burke and Enoch Burke due to their behaviour at a previous hearing on November 5th, in which they were all escorted out of the courtroom by gardai following a series of interruptions.

He said they will be allowed to make representations before he considers whether their behaviour did amount to contempt of court, and decides on an appropriate sanction of imprisonment, a fine, or both.

He said he would hear representations on how those proceedings should go ahead after he delivers a judgement in respect of the matters involving Mr Burke and the school next week.

No member of the Burke family was present for Wednesday’s proceedings, nor did any representative of Mr Burke, who has represented himself when he has attended, make themselves known to the court.

Earlier in the hearing, Rosemary Mallon, a barrister for the school’s board of management, said the principal of Wilson’s Hospital had informed a solicitor that Mr Burke had arrived at the school at 10am that day.

Ms Mallon said it appeared Mr Burke had not followed directions of the court and was “set on a particular course of action” as she sought an order for his attachment and committal.

She said the principal had a sworn affidavit that Mr Burke continues to try and enter the school premises and while he had been prevented by security multiple times, he had also managed to gain access to the grounds.

The principal said they had to personally become involved and interact with Mr Burke in the view of students, which was “far from ideal”.

Reading from an affidavit, Ms Mallon said that the principal had said that “daily disruption caused by Mr Burke is extremely difficult to deal with” and was “negatively impacting” on students.

The principal said the school should be dealing with educational matters instead, and added that it had not received 15,000 euros in damages for trespass that had previously been ordered.

Ms Mallon said: “I do feel like I am a broken record at this stage: The school wants to be a school.”

She said it did not want to have to swear affidavits every week “about what Mr Burke did next”.

“They just want Mr Burke to stay out of the school and obey a court order.”

She said it appeared that Mr Burke does not believe the court orders apply to him simply becuase he does not agree with it.

However, she said it was “bizarre and unfathomable” that he had not appealed the court’s decision and instead persists almost every school day to “flout it”.

“Clearly he believes the rule of law does not apply to him.”

Ms Mallon said: “We don’t want Mr Burke locked up, we don’t want his cars or cars of his family seized by sheriffs or An Garda Sicoahan and sold.

“We just want Mr Burke to stop attending the school .”

Mr Justice Cregan said Mr Burke was aware the proceedings were happening, had been afforded fair procedure and had “ample opportunity” to make submissions in respect of his potential attachment and committal in relation to the matters.

He said Mr Burke had appeared for some of the previous hearings and added: “He knows the motion is before the court, if he chooses not to show up – that’s his choice.

“Mr Burke has a right to be here and he is choosing not to be here.”

Meanwhile, the board of management of the school also said it was “very frustrating” that a Disciplinary Appeal Panel (DAP) hearing for Mr Burke due to take place on November 8 had been postponed with no new date fixed.

The court heard that this happened because Mr Burke informed the DAP that he was making an application to the Court of Appeal.

Ms Mallon said it was her view that Mr Burke’s application to the Court of Appeal had no prospect of any success.

However, she said the DAP’s decision to postpone left the school “in somewhat of a limbo”.

She added: “What that means in practical terms is that Mr Burke continues to be paid by Department of Education pending the outcome of that application.”

The DAP is to review the matter no later than November 30 and convene a hearing “as soon as possible thereafter”.