Enoch Burke

Mr Burke was told he would have have to watch Tuesday afternoon's proceedings via video link which he declined and left the Four Courts with members of his ...

“I will direct he not be permitted to return to the court. His continued refusal to comply with those orders resulted in him being found in contempt of court and his incarceration for 108 days. The judge also suggested he would “test the patience of Job”. His sister Ammi then came out of the courtroom and asked for her brother to be admitted. It was unclear whether they were going to join the proceedings by video link. When the court resumed at 2pm, Mr Burke stayed outside the courtroom.

Counsel for Wison's Hospital School strongly refuted claims made by Mr Burke that evidence had been altered.

“I’ve ruled in relation to this matter now, we cannot continue to hear… He was released before Christmas. I said I’ve ruled on this issue now.” At the beginning of proceedings, Mr Burke told the court that he believed something from a Book of Evidence submitted to the court had been “tampered with” and “surreptitiously erased”. Before the lunchtime break, the judge ruled that as he had been “continuously in contempt of court”, Mr Burke will not be allowed to return to court when proceedings resume in the afternoon, and will be facilitated to watch proceedings via a video link. A High Court judge has dismissed what he called “flimsy” and “stupid” arguments from Enoch Burke in favour of a delay in a High Court case with his former employer.

A JUDGE HAS dismissed what he called “flimsy” and “stupid” arguments from Irish teacher Enoch Burke in favour of a delay in a High Court case with his ...

“I’m afraid it’s bye-bye to you.” The judge said Mr Burke could only address him if he was willing to obey the rules of the court. “I’ve ruled in relation to this matter now, we cannot continue to hear … “Oh, there they go,” the judge remarked as they left. I said I’ve ruled on this issue now.” “You’re the author of your own misfortune,” the judge said, after ruling that Burke should not be allowed to return to the courtroom after recess. Connaughton added that he had watched Mr Burke’s appearance before the Court of Appeal, where he was repeatedly asked if he would comply with orders of the court, to which “he absolutely refused to do so”. In the following exchange, the judge told Burke there was no indication that he was “going to pay a blind bit of notice of what I do”. He added that he had offered to deal with the concerns raised by Mr Burke, despite not believing there was much to it, but told the court Burke’s aim was to “torpedo” proceedings. Connaughton said Burke has a “misconceived” notion that the case is to do with his religion, when it is about conducting himself “in a manner appropriate for a teacher in the school”. “This isn’t really a basis upon which there should be a delay of proceedings,” he said, adding that he could not see how Mr Burke had been inconvenienced or how he himself had been misled, and calling the arguments put forward “flimsy”. After an hour and a half of back-and-forth between the presiding judge and Burke, the court ruled that as he had been “continuously” in contempt of court, Mr Burke would not be allowed to return when proceedings resumed in the afternoon.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Mr Burke could not attend the courtroom and could view the proceedings by video link after finding ...

The judge said he agreed and was finding Mr Burke in contempt of court. As a result his family walked out of court and the school commenced its case. He claimed that the matter could not proceed until his concerns about the tampering of documents had been addressed. Mr Burke denies any wrongdoing, and says that his suspension arises out of his opposition to transgendarism and a direction by the school to refer to a student who wishes to transition by a different pronoun. Mr Burke was suspended from the Co Westmeath secondary school last year, and was the subject of High Court injunction, which was put in place pending the outcome of the full hearing of the dispute, over his failure to comply with the terms of his suspension which required him to stay away from the school while he was on administrative leave. Mark Connaughton SC, also for the school, told the court said the nobody should have to listen to this, that Mr Burke was clearly in contempt of the face of court and would "not listen to anybody." During the proceedings, Mr Burke said he was "seeking justice" and accused Mr White of telling lies and said he should be "struck off the registrar of barristers." The Judge said Mr Burke had "excluded himself" and it was a case of "bye-bye" from the courtroom but that he could return to court and participate in the hearing once he agreed to comply with the rules of court and allow the case to proceed without interruption. Ruling on the matter, Mr Justice Owens dismissed Mr Burke's claim and said he did not accept that any evidence had been put before the court to show that any material had been tampered with or that the court had been lied to. No formal application to the court had been made by Mr Burke in relation to discovery, and the matter had only been raised at the last minute. In reply, the judge, who on over "20 occasions," asked Mr Burke if he wanted to proceed with and not to interrupt the court, said Mr Burke was "the author of his own destruction". Mr Justice Alexander Owens ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Mr Burke could not attend the courtroom and could view the proceedings by video link after finding that Mr Burke was in contempt of the face of the court for his constant interruption of the proceedings.

Enoch Burke has been formally warned about his behaviour as his High Court hearing officially gets underway.

Enoch will be given an opportunity to be a "spectator," according to the judge. The school's barrister will open the case at 2pm. The courtroom has emptied but Enoch & Co.

Mr Justice Alex Owens held Enoch Burke in contempt of court and directed that the case be opened in his absence.

They have accused Enoch of having a “misconceived notion” that it is about his religious beliefs, when in fact it is all about the way he conducted himself with the principal and board of management. Unhappy with a ruling in relation to alleged tampering of material, Enoch Burke refused to let it go. Wilson's Hospital School has accused Enoch Burke of having a "misconceived notion" about why he was dismissed from his permanent teaching role at the school.

Enoch Burke excluded from courtroom over contempt of court after repeated clashes with judge · 'Getting in car with four lads is not consent to sex,' jury in ...

[three suspected firearms, ammunition and around €177,000 of drugs ](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/firearms-ammunition-and-177000-of-drugs-seized-in-finglas-42408388.html)in Finglas in Dublin. [autism spectrum disorder](https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/james-mcclean-reveals-daughters-experience-led-him-to-autism-spectrum-disorder-diagnosis-42407647.html) (ASD) assessment. [will remain as its brand ambassador ](https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/boxing/kellie-harrington-to-remain-as-spar-brand-ambassador-despite-bruising-interview-on-immigration-42408063.html)despite a bruising media interview in which she refused to discuss a controversial tweet about immigration. [Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/election-could-be-called-tomorrow-if-no-confidence-motion-passes-taoiseach-warns-42407616.html), as he urged TDs not to support a no confidence motion in the Government. [three men accused of raping a woman in a hotel car park](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/getting-in-car-with-four-lads-is-not-consent-to-sex-jury-in-trial-of-alleged-gang-rape-of-teenage-girl-told-42408079.html) has been told that getting in a car is not consent for sex. [of the dispute between Wilson’s Hospital School and Enoch Burke ](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/enoch-burke-excluded-from-courtroom-over-contempt-of-court-after-repeated-clashes-with-judge-42407181.html)has excluded the sacked schoolteacher from the courtroom this afternoon due to repeated interruptions and his refusal to accept a ruling of the court.

Simeon Burke remains in custody and said that he should have been sitting his drafting exams in Kings Inns as he demanded a speedy trial and accused gardaí ...

He demanded that his hearing date be expedited and added that he had been deprived of his exams. Standing and facing the judge, he complained that prosecution disclosure was "15 lines, 15 sentences" and "a made-up story" and claimed that gardaí had fabricated evidence against him. Westmeath, where he has been in a legal dispute over transgenderism. He maintained his arrest was manifestly unlawful and the power of arrest had not been explained to him. He said it was "lies that I was insulting, lies that I was abusive, lies that I was aggressive in court". However, the student would not accept that and refused to sign the bond, claiming that the Court of Appeal was trying "to shove transgenderism down the throats of the people", and he called for a halt to his prosecution.

When the case resumed this morning at 9.30am, which is an earlier start than normal, neither Burke nor his family were present.

Despite several warnings from the bench, Burke was eventually deemed to be in contempt of court and was excluded from the courtroom until he agreed to stop interrupting. Burke disputes this and says his suspension is unlawful and in breach of his rights including his rights to freedom of religious express, and claims the whole case concerns his religious objections to transgenderism. In the proceedings the school claims that the main issue is if the school was entitled to suspend Burke, arising out of the manner in which he voiced his objections to a direction by the school to refer to a student who wished to transition by a different first name and pronoun. When the case resumes White is expected to outline the school’s response to issues about the discovery of documents raised by Burke yesterday, which had resulted in sharp and sometimes angry exchanges between the court and Burke and the school’s lawyers and the teacher. Burke was yesterday excluded from attending the proceedings until he agrees to comply with the rules of court and not interrupt the case, after Mr Justice Alexander Owens found the Co Mayo evangelical Christian to be in contempt of the face of the court. THE SECOND DAY of the full High Court hearing of ongoing dispute between teacher Enoch Burke and Wilson’s Hospital School over disciplinary proceedings resulting in his suspension from work has been delayed this morning as it was not known if the teacher had been made aware the case was due to start at 9.30am.

The former principal of Wilson's Hospital School has told the High Court she regarded an email sent to her by Enoch Burke as a “significant challenge” to ...

Just after 11am, there was no appearance by Mr Burke in court or via remote link. In response to Mr Burke’s allegations that solicitors for the school had “tampered” with documents discovered by it, the judge ruled there was no evidence to support such claims. The school claims Mr Burke “harangued” the principal. Everyone could see Mr Burke was upset and tense about the matter and she believed the collegiate approach at such meetings was reflected in the chaplain’s response, she said. When Mr Burke failed to agree, the case proceeded at 2pm without him being physically present. Mr Burke had also asked the chaplain for his view.

The teacher denies any wrongdoing and claims his suspension arises out of his opposition to transgenderism and a direction by the school to refer to a student ...

He asked the chaplain what his personal belief in the matter was. This was the first time this had happened while she was principal at the school, Ms McShane said. She said Mr Burke did not attend this meeting. She said Mr Burke was “very clear” he wanted her to remove this request of him and that he “cannot support this”. “In my last year there, I did have a number of conversations around his own belief system,” she said. One of them was a "Harry Potter actress” who identified as gender-neutral.

Niamh McShane, former principal of Wilson's Hospital School, told the High Court that she had had 'mostly positive' interactions with Enoch Burke.

Ms McShane said that she tried to “find a way through, like we had in the past”, but added that the student was “of paramount concern”. The court heard that the chaplain replied to say that Mr Burke had done a brave thing to raise the issue, but Ms McShane told the court he also indicated that his personal belief was “irrelevant”, as the obligation was to look after the children in their care. She said that following the staff meeting, she reached out to Mr Burke to discuss the issue, and scheduled a meeting “designed to find an area where they could compromise”, to both support Mr Burke in his beliefs and what Ms McShane called his “discomfort”, as well as the students’ needs. Ms McShane also told the court that during “Covid times”, when there was a return to the school and a Covid plan was put in place that included wearing face masks, “Mr Burke indicated that he didn’t want to wear a face mask”. After the email was sent on May 9th by Ms McShane to staff with that request from the student, the court heard that Mr Burke replied at 8.27am on May 10th to ask whether the parents of the school’s students were aware of this and whether the chaplain had agreed to it. “Mr Burke brought me to this and asked me if I was supportive of it, and I said I was and we had a conversation about that,” Ms McShane said.

A DATE has been set for the trial of Enoch Burke's younger brother Simeon, who denies threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at the Four Courts.

The judge asked Ammi Burke not to speak to her brother while he was addressing him. He was released without purging his contempt but continued to return to his former workplace, incurring fines. He spent 108 days in jail for contempt of court by continuing to turn up there. This had been an amendment to the exact location of the alleged offence. He has said the arrest was unlawful as he was not told the reason for it and “we are not in North Korea where you can be thrown in a cell and not told what you have done.” Mr Burke said he was seeking a hearing date “notwithstanding that it’s unlawful” and he was asking for the case to be struck out on the basis of “unlawful arrest.” Mr Burke claimed he was assaulted by “a mob of gardai” because his family objected to “having transgenderism forced down the throats of the people of this country." “I would like to push back on the characterisation of me being in custody on a voluntary basis, I am not” Mr Burke said. “So he’s free to walk out of prison if he signs the bond, the only thing holding him in the absence of his signature,” the judge said. He said he had no prior notice, that it was "unfair" and it “affects the substance of the charge sheet and goes to the merits of the garda case.” The judge asked Mr Burke if he was applying for his sister to be a legal assistant recognised by the court, known as a “McKenzie friend”. When the case was called, Simeon Burke told the judge that yesterday in Cloverhill District Court, he had an application “sprung on” him by the prosecution to amend the charge sheet.

A brother of sacked schoolteacher Enoch Burke has pleaded not guilty to a breach in connection with outbursts in the Court of Appeal.

Simeon confirmed his not-guilty plea and said he was innocent and ready to face the case. Judge Power ordered him to appear before Dublin District Court on Wednesday when he will be given his hearing date. Standing and facing the judge, he complained that the prosecution disclosure was '15 lines, 15 sentences' and 'a made-up story', and claimed that gardaí had fabricated evidence against him. Dressed in a navy suit, white shirt and blue tie, he was supported in court by his father, Seán. There was no objection to bail set at €200, but there was a condition to stay away from the Four Courts. That day, Simeon was carried out of court by a number of gardaí.