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ENOCH BURKE HAS been ordered back to prison for a sixth time after repeatedly breaching a High Court injunction not to trespass at Wilson’s Hospital School.
Judge Brian Cregan today ordered Burke’s immediate arrest and committal to Mountjoy Prison, describing his conduct towards the Co Westmeath school as “provocative and confrontational”.
The judge also ordered the sequestration, or seizure, of a car used to bring Burke to the school, while allowing the Burke family to respond to that order in the next 24 hours.
Burke has already spent more than 700 days in prison across five separate periods of imprisonment for contempt of court since 2022.
He was most recently released on 1 July because the school year had ended, without giving an undertaking to stay away.
The permanent injunction by Judge Alexander Owens that prevents him from entering the school’s grounds without the board of management’s consent is still in place.
Burke was dismissed by the school in 2023, but has continued to attend its premises and contest decisions concerning his employment.
He maintains that his case arises from his religious opposition to an instruction by the school’s then principal to address a transgender student by their preferred pronouns.
Judges have repeatedly said that his imprisonment concerns his refusal to obey court orders.
Burke has also accrued more than €200,000 in fines for failing to obey the order.
He was formally dismissed by the school in May of this year, after a Disciplinary Appeals Panel (DAP) upheld the initial decision to sack him, though he has been given leave to seek a judicial review of this.
Today’s hearing
Neither Burke nor any members of his family attended today’s hearing.
The case initially came before Judge Cregan at 11am, but put back until 2pm after the court heard that Burke had sworn an affidavit in Castlebar this morning.
When it resumed, counsel for the school’s board, Rosemary Mallon, said Burke had been told of the afternoon hearing and offered arrangements to attend remotely.
However, Mallon told the court that the principal of Wilson’s Hospital School had informed her that Burke had instead arrived at the school after swearing the affidavit this morning.
Mallon then read from affidavits detailing Burke’s attendance at the school since it reopened after the summer break on 27 August.
Principal Noel Cunningham said that Burke first appeared in the school’s reception on the first morning of the new term.
Gardaí attended but said they could not arrest him for trespassing without a warrant. Burke allegedly told them: “I am here to work.”
Cunningham also said he decided against holding a planned meeting with parents and first year pupils that day because Burke was present, and engaged security.
The court heard that the cost of security is currently €1,200 a week, which the school is paying while seeking assistance from the Department of Education.
The principal also said that there had been some “positive developments” when Burke remained outside the grounds on several school days after first trespassing, including occasions when the security guard took breaks.
However, a pattern subsequently emerged in which Burke entered the grounds when the guard left the gate, and moved into reception when security or staff were unavailable to stop him.
Mallon described repeated incidents throughout September and October in which Burke turned up at the school, entered reception when a security guard took a break, and would stay there, sometimes remaining until late afternoon.
On multiple occasions, Cunningham, the deputy principal and school secretary had to ensure he did not go further into the building.
The court was shown a photograph of swipe-card-controlled glass doors beyond reception that prevented Burke from going further into the school.
Cunningham said parents had complained to the school that they were uncomfortable speaking to the secretary while Burke was present because he could overhear their conversations.
The court also heard that footage showing interactions with security had appeared multiple times on Burke’s X account and on his brother Josiah’s Facebook page.
‘Please reconsider’
The board’s solicitors warned Burke on 5 October that an application to imprison him would follow unless he complied with the injunction by 5pm on 8 October.
The letter acknowledged that he had previously remained outside the gates, but said: “You have now reverted to previous conduct.”
It added that the board had “absolutely no desire to re-enter litigation”, and urged the former teacher: “Please reconsider.”
Cunningham said Burke refused to accept the letter and a copy of the injunction when he tried to hand them to him, leaving them at his feet; the court heard that the warning was also emailed to Burke.
In another affidavit, the chairperson of the school’s board of management Craig Petrie said the school was in an “invidious” position after four years of litigation and had no option but to seek the order.
“It is with great regret that the board is bringing this application,” he said.
Petrie also expressed concern about the example being set for pupils when the school was responsible for teaching respect for the law.
The court heard that Burke attended the school again on 13 October. A photograph taken that day showed a car associated with him parked on the roadside.
Burke’s response
In his replying affidavit, read into the court by Mallon, Burke claimed the injunction was unlawful and said he had applied in August for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
That application has yet to be considered.
He also cited judicial review proceedings concerning the DAP decision to uphold his sacking on 20 May relating to his dismissal, alleging “objective bias” by a named member of the panel.
He said leave had been granted and the matter was returnable on 27 October.
Burke argued that the courts’ failure to address the legitimacy of the instruction concerning the transgender student was of the “utmost seriousness”.
Mallon noted that Burke never denied breaching the injunction in his affidavit, and that the court’s order remained valid.
She also said his judicial review proceedings did not change the fact that he remained dismissed.
Delivering his decision, Judge Cregan said there had been “18 deliberate breaches of the High Court order” to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School.
He also described it as “shocking” that Burke waited for the security guard to take a break on a number of occasions before entering the school’s grounds.
“It’s hard to think of anything more ignoble on the part of a teacher,” he said.
The judge noted that Burke had offered no apology and said neither his Supreme Court application nor judicial review proceedings justified refusing the school’s application.
Although he said the court was reluctant to imprison Burke, Judge Cregan added the court had to protect the school’s children from his behaviour.
He reiterated that Burke was being imprisoned for breaching a court order, not for his religious beliefs and adjourned the matter until 29 October.