Enoch Burke claims transfer from Mountjoy Prison to Castlerea Prison was unlawful

The jailed schoolteacher said the transfer was wrong and shouldn’t have happened, and 'needs to be put right'

Enoch Burke has spent over 600 days in prison in separate spells for his contempt of the court order. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins, Dublin

Jailed schoolteacher Enoch Burke has claimed that his transfer from Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison to Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon has no legal basis.

The High Court jailed Enoch Burke in January on foot of his continued breaching of an order banning him from Wilson’s Hospital School, Co Westmeath, where he previously taught German and history. He has spent over 600 days in prison in separate spells for his contempt of the court order.

He was banned from the school when Judge Alexander Owens ruled in May 2023 that the Co Westmeath school had validly suspended him from his teaching position, and ordered that Enoch Burke be restrained from attending at the school premises.

The school suspended — and later dismissed — Mr Burke over his conduct towards the then-principal Niamh McShane at a school religious event in June 2022.

The confrontation arose in circumstances where the principal had earlier requested teachers to address a student by a new name, and with the pronouns “they” and “them”. Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian, has maintained that this request went against his religious beliefs.

He has repeatedly claimed he has been jailed over his religious beliefs and views on transgender issues, a claim rejected by several High Court judges.

On March 1, Enoch Burke was transferred by the Irish Prison Service from Mountjoy Prison — where he had hitherto been jailed during his various periods of incarceration — to Castlerea Prison.

On Tuesday, Enoch Burke, appearing before Judge Brian Cregan via video link, said that transfer had “no legal basis”, stating that the court ordered that he be detained at Mountjoy.

He said the transfer was wrong and shouldn’t have happened, and “needs to be put right”. He said this argument was made without prejudice to his position that he should not be incarcerated, and that Judge Owens’ original order banning him from Wilson’s Hospital School was invalid.

Aoife O’Leary, BL for the Governor of Mountjoy Prison, said legislation provided her client with wide discretion to transfer prisoners between prisons.

Enoch Burke, in response, said the referred to legislation dealt with criminal matters, and could not apply to his incarceration as it is a civil matter.

The judge directed counsel for Mountjoy Prison to file with the court documents outlining the facts of Burke’s transfer, and why the governor says he was entitled to transfer the teacher.

Disciplinary appeals panel

Having dealt with the prison transfer matter, the judge moved to seek an update from Rosemary Mallon, BL for Wilson’s Hospital School, on the convening of a new disciplinary appeals panel (Dap) to hear Mr Burke’s challenge to his dismissal from the school.

Mr Burke has brought separate lawsuits against two previous panels convened to hear his appeal. His most recent action was struck out last month, in circumstances where two panel members resigned following legal advice last month, and acceptance by the third member she could not be part of a reconvened panel.

Before counsel for the school could update the judge, Mr Burke submitted that it was not appropriate for the court to interfere with the Dap process. 

He said the court had no role in the Dap process, and any comment or remark made by the court on the process would represent an “unlawful interference”.

He also noted that he has been granted an expedited hearing date in his bid to bring a late appeal to Judge Owens’ judgment banning him from Wilson’s Hospital School. He said it was his position that his appeal should be determined before the Dap process continues.

The judge said he did not agree with Mr Burke’s submission, and said his sole concern in respect of the Dap was in the context of Enoch Burke’s ongoing imprisonment, and the court’s role in overseeing Burke’s attachment and committal.

However, the judge said he noted Mr Burke’s concerns, and in those circumstances, said he would not ask counsel for the school for an update.

The matter will return to court next week.