An application by Enoch Burke to have the chair of a Teaching Council panel recuse himself from an inquiry into allegations of professional misconduct against him has been refused.
Mr Burke’s application for the entire panel to recuse itself on the basis of a perceived lack of independence was also turned down, reports RTE.
At the conclusion of Thursday’s online hearing, Mr Burke described the decisions as a “grave and monumental error.”
During the meeting of the Teaching Council panel, chairperson Andy Pike said the council was considering a number of applications based on what Mr Burke had said was objective bias in its ability to examine the allegations against him, reports RTE.
The allegations against Mr Burke relate to complaints about his repeated attendance at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath in breach of court orders.
The chair said the relevant allegations related to Mr Burke’s alleged conduct from 28 August 2022 onwards and not prior to those dates, reports RTE.
Mr Burke had continued to attend at Wilson’s Hospital School after being suspended, placed on administrative leave and further restrained from attending by a series of High Court orders.
He was formally dismissed from his role at the school last month, reports RTE.
In his application, Mr Burke had referenced three social media posts made by chair Andy Pike.
The first was at 6.20pm on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2023, in which Mr Pike had retweeted a post from a parade and commented “another Enoch float,” reports RTE.
Mr Pike said the post did not contain words of ridicule or dislike towards Mr Burke and did not give rise to what a reasonable person would consider as bias.
The chair also noted the post had been made a year and a half before the Teaching Council inquiry and there was no rational or logistical link between it and any reasonable apprehension of bias, reports RTE.
A further social media post from 20 July 2018 was also considered, in which Mr Pike had retweeted a post referring to an online discussion for anyone with an interest in mental health, addiction and LGBTQ issues.
Mr Burke had claimed this was a promotional post advocating the use of the “they” pronoun, though Mr Pike said it had been made five years before any complaints were referred to the Teaching Council and the panel decided it could not cause a reasonable apprehension of bias, reports RTE.
The final social media post had been reposted by Mr Pike in November 2025 and related to the experience of a student in an unnamed school.
This was also found not to have caused a reasonable apprehension of bias in any informed observer, reports RTE.
Mr Burke had also objected to the role of a legal adviser to the panel and claimed there had been breaches of the panel’s obligations during preliminary hearings.
However, the panel chair concluded that there had been no breach of its abilities as an independent and impartial decision-maker, reports RTE.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Mr Burke said it was a “grave and monumental error” that a man who he claimed had “championed the they pronoun” would be able to chair an inquiry into him.
His microphone was then muted, and the inquiry concluded to give Mr Burke time to consider its findings, reports RTE.
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