Enoch Burke to be immediately released from prison, court orders

Enoch Burke is to be released from Mountjoy Prison on Wednesday, a court has ordered, despite indicating he would attend a Co Westmeath school against a court order.

Mr Burke, who appeared before the High Court on Wednesday, rejected the reasons given by the judge for his release and accused it of an “outstanding U-turn”.

The judge said he felt Mr Burke would be “hamstrung” in preparing a legal case while in prison, and he dismissed Mr Burke’s rejection of that reasoning as “nonsense”.

Mr Burke has been in jail since late November for breaches of a court order directing him not to trespass at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath, where he worked as a teacher.

Last week, he sought a temporary injunction against a disciplinary appeals body tasked with reviewing his dismissal from the school.

Before the High Court on Wednesday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan said Mr Burke had raised “substantive” and “credible” issues in papers prepared against the Disciplinary Appeals Panel (DAP).

The judge said he was directing that Mr Burke be released from prison for “one reason and one reason only”, in the interest of the administration of justice and so that he has time to prepare for his case against the DAP.

He said his release was on the condition that Mr Burke does not trespass on the school’s property, and if he does, he directed that the school come to the High Court the next day and he will have “no hesitation in bringing him back to prison”.

Mr Burke, who appeared before the court by videolink, indicated to the court several times that he would attend Wilson’s Hospital School when released.

“If I am released from this court today, I will be at my workplace tomorrow,” he said.

“If I am released from prison, my duty is to be at my workplace.”

The court maintained Mr Burke should be released, but said the case would be put in for mention on Thursday to deal with whether Mr Burke attends the school.

Mr Burke then accused the court of an “outstanding U-turn” and of hypocrisy by choosing to release him from prison.

Mr Cregan said: “Mr Burke, your ability to shoot yourself in the foot is unparalleled, in my experience.”

Two of Mr Burke’s brothers attempted to interrupt proceedings on Wednesday: Isaac Burke spoke by videolink and was muted by the court, and Simeon Burke, who is a barrister, was told to leave the court towards the end of proceedings.

“I am going to do something I have never asked someone to do before, I am going to ask you, as a member of the Bar, to leave the court,” Mr Cregan said, adding that he had no right of representation.

The board of management of the Co Westmeath school and Mr Burke have been entangled in a legal dispute 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 Burke, an Evangelical Christian who taught German and history at the school, has repeatedly argued the direction was unconstitutional and went against his right to express his religious beliefs.

The school has been granted injunctive relief, restraining him from attending the school, however he continued to attend in breach of the order.

He has been fined 225,000 euro and imprisoned for 550 days, a figure cited by Mr Burke, for attending the school in breach of the court order.