Judge orders Enoch Burke to be imprisoned once more for contempt of court

By Bairbre Holmes (PA)

A judge has said Enoch Burke and his family have committed “the most deliberate, sustained and concerted attack” on the civil courts and the rule of law in Ireland in recent times as he jailed the former teacher.

Sentencing Mr Burke at the High Court in Dublin on Tuesday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan said fines and security measures have not deterred Mr Burke from trespassing at Wilson’s Hospital School, where he used to teach.

Mr Burke has previously been sent to prison for contempt of court over the legal dispute with the board of management of the school, stemming from incidents over a request in 2022 from the school’s then-principal to address a student by a new name and pronoun.

Mr Justice Cregan said it was “important to be clear” that the case is “not about transgenderism”, and that Mr Burke is “perfectly entitled to have and to articulate” his views on transgender issues.

He said the case is about Mr Burke’s breach of “court orders directing him not to trespass on school property”, adding: “I am sure that any of the pupils in Wilson’s Hospital, from transition year up, would understand that distinction.

“It is not difficult to understand.”

Mr Justice Cregan said Mr Burke had “not paid a euro” of fines imposed by courts and said it was “clear” security guards had failed to deter him from “breaching court orders and entering school premises”.

He said there was “no longer any option left to enforce the order of the court other than to imprison Mr Burke for repeated and flagrant breaches of the court order”.

However he added that “Mr Burke has the keys to his own prison and, if he wishes to purge his contempt, then he can be released”.

Mr Justice Cregan said, as a teacher, Mr Burke’s behaviour was “grotesque” saying he put his “own ridiculous sense of himself above the needs of his pupils”.

He said it was “clear that Mr Burke is willing to sacrifice the pupils of the school on the altar of his fanatical campaign against transgenderism”.

He described Mr Burke as a “baleful and malign presence” at Wilson’s Hospital school and said there “is something deeply unsettling” about Mr Burke’s trespassing onto school grounds as he went into “the heart of the school, roaming around its corridors”.

He described how Mr Burke, and his brothers, uploaded videos they had taken of themselves trespassing on school property.

The judge said Mr Burke’s antics had “no doubt” caused a “crisis” in the school, saying that “instead of concentrating on the noble task of educating the young people of tomorrow” teachers and the board of management are “having to deal with Mr Burke and his actions”.

He described his “verbal aggression, unregulated anger and lack of self-control” as a “potential danger” to pupils and teachers.

Mr Burke was not in court for the sentencing, but Mr Justice Cregan said at previous hearings he had called “his opponents and judges liars at every opportunity” which was “not normal behaviour”.

And described Mr Burke and his family as engaged in a “campaign to undermine the proper functioning of the courts”

He said their actions were “concerted, organised, and systematic” and that they appeared to take it in turns to “hurl verbal abuse” at judges meaning gardai had to be notified when the family came to court.

Mr Justice Cregan asked how the Burkes would feel if a group of pro-transgender protesters trespassed on their family home and garden, and made “themselves at home in the kitchen and living room, pretending they had a legal right to be there”.

He also questioned the family’s “invocation of God and scripture” and said Mr Burke should spend more time reflecting on Jesus’s words: “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you (Luke 6.31).”

Mr Justice Cregan also requested the Attorney General to bring contempt of court proceedings against Mr Burke, his mother Martina, his brother Dr Isaac Burke, and his sister Ammi Burke for a form of criminal contempt known as contempt in the face of the court.

Enoch Burke. PICTURE: PA