Irish teacher Enoch Burke remains in Mountjoy Prison, despite a judge giving him ten opportunities to agree to stay away from his former school.
Mr. Burke’s continued imprisonment for contempt of court came before Judge David Nolan for review on Friday, October 11.
Mr. Burke was sent to Mountjoy early last month, for his third lengthy spell behind bars for failing to obey a court order to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.
He had been arrested outside the school, which had taken disciplinary action against him two years previously, over his reaction to being asked to call a transitioning pupil by a new name and the pronoun "they."
During the latest short hearing, Judge Nolan told Mr. Burke he did not want him to be in prison, and advised that "the way to get out of prison" was to tell the court he would abide by the order to stay away from the school.
Judge Nolan asked Mr. Burke on ten occasions whether he would abide by the order.
He told him: "I would like you to say yes, and then I will let you out of jail."
However, Mr. Burke refused to do so.
The judge said Mr. Burke’s job was to answer the question, while Mr. Burke said the judge must uphold the Constitution.
Mr. Burke insisted that the High Court had continually misconstrued the basis for the disciplinary action taken against him.
He told the court the action had been taken because of his Christian beliefs against "transgenderism."
He said this was clear from the report of former principal Niamh McShane to the school’s board of management, and he claimed the court injunctions had been granted without any analysis of the report.
Mr. Burke said the report stated there were "concerns 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."
Judge Nolan suggested it was "their right if they wished" to transition.
However, Mr. Burke said "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?"
During the hearing, Mr. Burke’s mother, Martina, who was in court along with her husband, Sean, daughter, Ammi, and son, Isaac, made several comments, leading the judge to ask Mr. Burke if he was "being controlled by someone else."
Members of the Burke family accused the judge of being controlled, saying he was a "political actor, upholding a political decision made by a political court, to force teachers to accept transgenderism without any legal authority."
Judge Nolan said to Mr. Burke: "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."
He listed the matter for review again on December 20, telling Mr. Burke: "I hope you have an opportunity to reconsider."
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Mr. Burke has now spent more than 400 days in prison since September 2022.
The High Court order that he stay away from the school was made following a full four-day hearing of the case in March last year by Judge Alexander Owens.
Mr. Burke was sacked from the school in January 2023, but remains on full pay pending a hearing of his appeal against that dismissal.
In late August this year, the court heard of the stress and disruption caused to staff and students of his continued presence at the school.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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