Enoch Burke has been arrested and returned to Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison almost a week after a judge issued an order that he should be put behind bars for a fourth time.
Burke was first ordered not to trespass on the grounds of Wilson’s Hospital School over three years ago.
As Enoch is jailed for the fourth time, we take a look at his family life.
WHO ARE THE BURKE FAMILY?
Hailing from Co Mayo, the Burkes are a highly educated, Evangelical Christian family led by matriarch Martina and father Seán.
The 10 children were all home-schooled by their mother, who is a qualified teacher, and enjoyed academic success, with all of them scoring over 520 points in the Leaving Cert exams and going on to graduate with First Class Honours from the University of Galway/NUIG.
PROTESTS, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, AND NUIG
The family would regularly protest against same-sex marriage and civil partnerships, going back as far as 2008, with their protests including linking homosexuality to incest and paedophilia.
Four of the siblings, who were members of NUIG’s Christian Union Society and held all four officers positions, campaigned against NUIG’s support of same-sex marriage ahead of the 2015 referendum, and against NUIG’s referendum to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) – the latter of which saw them banned from the university’s societies for life, after fliers they printed had the university’s logo on it, which the Society Co-ordination Group (USCG) called a misrepresentation of endorsement.
The four siblings, Isaac, Kezia, Ammi and Enoch, sued the university for religious discrimination, and while the USCG revoked the lifetime ban and were criticised for an ‘extraordinary and inexcusable’ lack of knowledge on fair or proper procedures, the claim that they were being discriminated against on religious grounds was rejected.
UNLAWFUL DISMISSAL, PREDICTED GRADES AND NPHET
Well before the Wilson’s Hospital School incident, the Burkes were in the news several times over the news, albeit in a reduced capacity to the continuous rolling coverage surrounding Enoch.
In 2019, then law graduate Ammi was fired from law firm Arthur Cox, with the family picketing the firm’s offices. While Ammi claimed that she was dismissed over a disagreement with a partner at the firm, the firm said that there was a breakdown between three of its senior partners and her.
Things came to a head in 2023 during the unfair dismissal case, when the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) threw the case out over Ammi and her mother Martina’s behaviour, with the Burke matriarch allegedly repeatedly interrupting and ‘berating’ the adjudicator.
Journalism graduate and sibling Jemima also rose to prominence while questioning then Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, with her gaining access to the press conference by claiming to be with The Western People – a newspaper in Galway that hasn’t existed for nearly 100 years.
Jemima and her brother Josiah, as well as their mother, were also removed from an inquest into a child’s death after making unfounded claims about the girl’s hospital treatment, which caused distress to the girl’s bereaved families.
Simeon Burke, who was forcibly removed from court alongside his sister and brother at Enoch’s various court hearings, is a law graduate, but was unable to find a ‘pupilage’ (apprenticeship) from a senior barrister on the master list. He was eventually taken on by Ciara Davin, BL.
Youngest member Elijah first rose to prominence after successfully challenging then Minister for Education Norma Foley after she refused to grant him calculated grades during the COVID-19 pandemic, as his mother would be awarding his grades due to him being home-schooled.
He would also study law at the University of Galway, and went viral back in October after he rose to challenge Catherine Connolly during a Literary and Debating event where she was present.
LATEST ON ENOCH
Following a High Court judge’s order to arrest Enoch after he continually breached a court order telling him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School, Mr Burke was on Tuesday arrested and brought to prison.
Gardaí visited his family home twice in the past week, with a female family member – believed to be Jemima Burke – filming their father Seán speaking to four members of Gardaí, with the videos being shared to Enoch Burke’s X account.
Days before his arrest, Mr Burke posted a video from outside the school, attacking Catholic and Church of Ireland leaders for ‘staying silent’ and allowing transgender and pride flags to be flown in the school.