Enoch Burke sues Sunday Independent over allegedly defamatory article

Mr Burke's sister, Ammi Burke, said the article made false and defamatory allegations about her brother being moved to another part of Mountjoy Prison because he had been annoying other prisoners

Enoch Burke has spent over a month in Mountjoy Prison over his failure to stay away and not try to teach at the school where he works. File picture: Collins Courts

Jailed teacher Enoch Burke claims he was allegedly defamed in a newspaper article published last weekend.

The High Court heard on Thursday morning that Mr Burke, who has spent over a month in Mountjoy Prison over his failure to stay away and not try to teach at the school where he works, wants to sue parties, including the Sunday Independent, over an article published in the Sunday newspaper.

In a fresh development, Mr Burke's sister Ammi Burke told Mr Justice Brian O'Moore that while the allegedly defamatory article had been temporarily removed by the publisher, as a matter of urgency her brother wished to come to court and seek an order under Section 33 of the 2009 Defamation Act.

It is understood that the allegations are denied. The granting of that order would ensure the article would not be republished in the future, the court heard.

Ms Burke, a qualified solicitor, said the article made false and defamatory allegations about her brother being moved to another part of Mountjoy Prison because he had been annoying other prisoners.

Ammi Burke told Mr Justice Brian O'Moore that while the allegedly defamatory article had been temporarily removed by the publisher, as a matter of urgency her brother wished to come to court and seek an order under Section 33 of the 2009 Defamation Act. File picture

She said the claims were wrong and said the Irish Prison Service had confirmed the allegations contained in the article were not true and that the information is false, and that there was no problem with Enoch Burke. She said her brother's case has been the subject of many national, local and international media reports, as well as commentary on social media.

Her brother was concerned that what he claims are the damaging and untrue allegations in the report could be repeated, particularly in the international media, and could also prejudice his ongoing case with Wilson's Hospital as well as damaging his reputation.

She added there had been many subsequent defamatory posts on social media about her brother. She said  there had been correspondence with the publisher of the article, but they were not happy with the response.

She said while the article had been taken down, her brother had no assurance that it would not be republished and had decided to seek an urgent injunction against the newspaper. She added the matter was so urgent that her brother should be allowed to come before the court at some stage on Thursday.

Mr Justice O'Moore said that he was prepared to allow Mr Burke to come before the court on Friday morning but rejected the application for Mr Burke to be produced before the court by the prison authorities any earlier.

The judge also said that given the article had been taken down he was not prepared to make any order against the newspapers without them having notice of Mr Burke's application. He told Ms Burke her brother was being accommodated with an early return date to make his application regarding the article.

'Bemused'

As the judge in charge of the High Court's chancery list, the judge said that he was now taking charge of the court action between Mr Burke and his employer that had resulted in the teacher's incarceration for contempt of court.

The judge said that he was "bemused" by the claim that the article could prejudice the ongoing issues between Mr Burke and the school. The judge said that he had not seen the article and added that he would not in any way be influenced by any media reporting of the dispute.

He said that on Friday he also wanted to hear from both the school and Mr Burke about managing the case with a view to having the matter fully heard before the High Court as soon as was possible.

Mr Burke was committed to prison last month until he agrees to obey the order not to attend at or attempt to teach any classes at Wilson's Hospital School.

The school obtained an order committing Mr Burke, who had been suspended pending the hearing of a disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against him, to prison over his failure to comply with the injunction. Arising out of his refusal to purge his contempt, he has been behind bars at Mountjoy Prison since early September.

Mr Burke has brought an appeal before the Court of Appeal against orders including the granting of the temporary ex-parte injunction against him, and the subsequent decision to keep the injunction in place pending the final hearing of the matter.

He also has appealed against the High Court's dismissal of applications brought by him aimed at setting aside his suspension from the school. The appeal is due to be mentioned before the Court of Appeal on Friday. Mr Burke has not appealed the High Court orders committing him to prison for contempt.