A Teaching Council inquiry panel has heard claims by Enoch Burke that a fitness-to-teach inquiry into his alleged misconduct — for repeatedly showing up at his school while suspended and in breach of court orders — amounts to a “hypocritical witch hunt,” reports Breaking News.
The panel is to rule on Friday on applications by Burke seeking to have it and its chairperson stand down from overseeing the inquiry, reports Breaking News.
The chairperson, Andy Pike, said the three-person panel required time to adjudicate on detailed and complex submissions made at a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Burke had called on Pike to recuse himself from chairing the inquiry on grounds of objective bias, reports Breaking News.
He separately applied for the panel as a whole to take similar action, claiming they had breached their obligation to remain independent due to their conduct and decisions during the preliminary stages of the inquiry.
Burke told the hearing it was “simply outrageous” to consider that Pike could approach the hearing with a fair and impartial mind, reports Breaking News.
‘Mocked and parodied’
He claimed the chairperson had posted “another Enoch float” on his X account on 17 March 2023, alongside a link to a video which “mocked and parodied” him and his suspension from Wilson’s Hospital school.
Burke said the post, which had 1,742 views, indicated the issue before the inquiry was “hilarious and a cause of amusement,” reports Breaking News.
“He promoted that view publicly,” said Burke.
He accused Pike of finding the issue “a fit object of mirth,” which he claimed was “preposterous and utterly hypocritical,” reports Breaking News.
Burke complained that he had been “dragged over the coals” and accused of bringing a profession he loved into disrepute, while Pike was “laughing behind the scenes.”
‘Hypocritical witch hunt’
He claimed the Teaching Council was indulging a vexatious complaint against him for its own reasons, which had turned the process into “a hypocritical witch hunt,” reports Breaking News.
The inquiry heard Pike had posted another tweet on 25 July 2018 in which he recommended that anyone with an interest in mental health or LGBT issues follow the account of Neville Southall, the former Everton and Wales goalkeeper, describing it as “the most positive Twitter feed I have ever seen.”
Burke noted Southall had posted a comment just three days earlier about “making the world a little less binary,” reports Breaking News.
He also took issue with a retweet by Pike on 27 November 2025 about Wilson’s Hospital by someone he claimed had gone out of their way to oppose his position.
Burke said the panel had blurred the lines of their obligation to be independent and impartial because of their interactions with the Teaching Council, reports Breaking News.
He made a similar complaint about the panel’s legal assessor, Lorna Lynch SC, claiming she was compromising the panel’s independence, while also complaining that the panel’s two other members — Adrian Guinan and Clodagh O’Hara — had not asked him any questions at a previous hearing.
Burke also claimed the complaint that resulted in him facing a fitness-to-teach inquiry was “frivolous, vexatious, made in bad faith and an abuse of process,” reports Breaking News.
He told the panel he had concerns about the bona fides of both Pike and the Teaching Council.
Burke said Pike held a radical viewpoint on transgender issues which did not reflect the law of the land, reports Breaking News.
Summary
In summary, he argued the chairperson had demonstrated a reasonable apprehension of bias, and that his use of social media was incompatible with chairing the inquiry.
In reply, counsel for the Teaching Council, Eoghan O’Sullivan BL, urged the panel to set aside Burke’s “righteous indignation, hyperbole and poetic licence,” reports Breaking News.
He claimed the teacher specialised in generality and that details were “not the friend” of Burke.
While the teacher was very fond of recourse to his own rights, O’Sullivan said he had little regard for the rights of others, reports Breaking News.
Counsel stressed that the inquiry was not about “pronouns or religious beliefs” but about Burke showing up repeatedly at his school after being suspended and in breach of court orders.
O’Sullivan accused him of repeatedly seeking to mischaracterise the purpose of the inquiry for his own agenda, reports Breaking News.
Tweets
He said Pike’s link about a St Patrick’s Day float was to an account which no longer exists, while his other tweet had not advocated anything about pronouns or transgenderism.
O’Sullivan pointed out the third tweet was about the good work of SNAs at Wilson’s Hospital and had nothing to do with issues before the inquiry, reports Breaking News.
He argued that two panel members not asking Mr Burke questions could not be perceived as demonstrating bias, while Lynch had made interventions to ensure he received a fair hearing.
O’Sullivan suggested that Burke made claims of bias “as soon as someone disagrees with him,” reports Breaking News.
The start of the hearing was delayed over objections by the teacher to his family being required to give their full names to security staff in order to attend.
Burke, who was brought to the Teaching Council’s headquarters in Maynooth, Co Kildare, from Castlerea Prison, claimed it was “wrong and intimidating” that his family members were met in the building by security staff who were “well-built men, dressed in black,” reports Breaking News.
Burke family
The inquiry heard that the Teaching Council had agreed to allow several members of the Burke family to attend the hearing without having to give their names.
They included Burke’s mother, Martina, his sister Amii and brother Isaac, who ultimately did not attend but remained in the vicinity for most of the day, reports Breaking News.
O’Sullivan had claimed the objection raised by Burke about his family attending the hearing was “absolute nonsense” and designed to frustrate the inquiry process.
Burke was suspended by Wilson’s Hospital in 2022 and later dismissed by the school last month over his refusal to follow a direction by then-principal Niamh McShane to address a student by a new name and the pronouns “they” and “them,” as well as his subsequent conduct towards the principal, reports Breaking News.
The German and history teacher, who has spent over 700 days in prison over his refusal to obey court orders, maintains the request went against his religious beliefs as an evangelical Christian.
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