Enoch Burke vows to fight on after he was removed from the High Court after the judge in his case against a disciplinary body directed gardaí to return him to Mountjoy Prison, with proceedings set to continue by videolink.
Mr Burke had been seeking a temporary injunction against a Disciplinary Appeals Panel reviewing the decision to dismiss him from Wilson’s Hospital School, reports RTE.
The hearing was convened to address how the process should proceed following two resignations from the DAP and to consider whether the school’s board of management could be joined to the case as a notice party.
At the beginning of proceedings, Mr Justice Brian Cregan warned Mr Burke that he would order his return to prison if he engaged in behaviour the court considered unacceptable, reports RTE.
Mr Burke is currently serving a sentence in Mountjoy Prison for contempt of court linked to breaches of orders prohibiting him from trespassing at the school.
As he interrupted Rosemary Mallon, counsel for the board of management, while she outlined proposals to establish a new DAP, the judge instructed him to sit down, reports RTE.
When Mr Burke failed to comply, Mr Justice Cregan directed gardaí to escort him back to prison, despite objections from members of his family present in court.
As he was being led away, Mr Burke described the situation as an “abuse of power” and said: “This is absolutely disgraceful, I have a right to justice.”, reports RTE.
His mother, Martina Burke, questioned why Ms Mallon was permitted to address the court and referred to her as a “foreign presence”.
Mr Burke’s sister, Ammi, said that Geraldine O’Brien, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) representative on the DAP, remained on the panel and argued it was still in existence, reports RTE.
Both his mother and sister were subsequently escorted from the courtroom by gardaí.
Mr Burke later said it was “disgraceful to drag my family out of court”, reports RTE.
The prolonged dispute between the school’s board of management and Mr Burke dates back to events in 2022, when the then-principal requested that a student be addressed by a new name and pronoun.
Mr Burke, an Evangelical Christian who taught German and history at the school, has consistently maintained that the direction was unconstitutional and infringed upon his right to express his religious beliefs, reports RTE.
Earlier in the hearing, Mr Burke argued that Ms Mallon and the board of management should neither be present nor added as a notice party in his proceedings against the DAP.
He said he “absolutely” objected to their inclusion, alleging that the school’s solicitors had engaged in “lying” and “prevarication”, reports RTE.
He further accused Ms Mallon of telling a “very serious lie” in stating that his dismissal was unrelated to his personal views.
“They have no business being here today.
“They are a foreign presence in the court this morning.”, reports RTE.
Ms Mallon told the court she would not respond to what she described as personalised attacks on the legal team.
Mr Justice Cregan responded: “Nor should you.”, reports RTE.
Ms Mallon submitted that adding the board of management as a notice party would not prejudice Mr Burke and said her clients would be directly affected by the DAP’s decision.
She also told the court that Mr Burke remains on the payroll of the Department of Education, reports RTE.
Ms Mallon noted Mr Burke’s objections to Ms O’Brien and the ASTI, adding that the board had proposed forming a new DAP that could include a representative from the Teachers Union of Ireland or, with Mr Burke’s agreement, someone from an independent body such as the Law Society, Bar Council or the Irish Congress of Trade Unions due to what she described as the exceptional circumstances of the case.
While she was reading from a letter sent to Mr Burke, he objected to it being read aloud in court, reports RTE.
It was at that point, after Mr Burke failed to comply with the judge’s direction to sit down, that he was removed and returned to Mountjoy Prison.
The case is due to resume later today, with Mr Burke participating via videolink, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
