Timeline: How the Enoch Burke saga has unfolded
The Burke family of Castlebar, Co Mayo, has become renowned across Ireland for its individual members’ ability to land themselves in controversial situations.
But prior to August 2022, Enoch Burke had kept a relatively low profile by his family’s standards, only coming to national attention once.
In November 2021, Enoch and siblings Kezia, Isaac, and Ammi lost a High Court action they had brought to challenge a lifetime ban from membership of college societies in NUI Galway some years previously.
A gifted student and respected teacher of German and history, Mr Burke — whose age is not officially known as he refused to confirm same in court, but is believed to be mid-30s — had worked quietly at Wilson’s Hospital, a secondary level boarding school in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath, since 2018 before exploding into the national consciousness.
Here is how the saga has unfolded.
Wilson’s Hospital School issues a directive to staff to address a transitioning student by their new name and the pronoun ‘they’.
Despite not actually teaching the student in question, Mr Burke states that the directive contravenes his religious beliefs, subsequently confronting the school’s principal at a church service celebrating the school’s 260th anniversary in June.
Mr Burke is placed on administrative suspension by the school as the dispute escalates. He refuses to adhere to the suspension, continuing to attend school and sit in an empty classroom. The school takes a High Court injunction preventing him from attending its premises.
Mr Burke is jailed for the first time after ignoring the injunction — perceived as contempt of court — and continuing to attend school.
His imprisonment had no timescale; it was set to expire when he purged his contempt — when he obeyed the order to stay away from school. Mr Burke refused to do so saying this would run contrary to his beliefs. He spends more than 100 days in jail before being released by Justice Brian O’Moore, who said on balance it made more sense for him to be freed given his punishment appeared to be having little effect.
Wilson’s Hospital formally terminates Mr Burke’s employment.
Having apparently exhausted the usefulness of imprisonment, a High Court judge rules Mr Burke must pay a €700 daily fine for every day in which he continues to refuse to purge his contempt. Meanwhile, Mr Burke continues to attend Wilson’s Hospital School on an almost daily basis.
Mr Burke's appeal against the injunction the school took against him is dismissed by the Court of Appeal. The court notes Mr Burke has not outlined any solution to the impasse.
After attending Wilson’s Hospital School throughout the year, and failing to pay the fines imposed on him which have accumulated to many thousands of euro, Mr Burke is sent to Mountjoy Prison for a second time for contempt of court. He will remain in custody for a further nine months.
Mr Burke is released once more on the basis Wilson’s Hospital School is now on its summer holidays. He refuses, nevertheless, to purge his contempt.
The High Court dismisses an application by Mr Burke for a permanent injunction compelling him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital.
At the beginning of the new school year, Mr Burke attends at the gates of Wilson’s Hospital once again.
High Court Justice Michael Quinn imprisons Mr Burke for a third time for continuing to ignore the injunction to stay away from the school.
Again, the court makes clear Mr Burke can be released at any time provided he purges his contempt and agrees to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital, the administration of which inform the court that Mr Burke’s continued attendance at the school is disrupting its day-to-day activities.
Mr Burke argues in court he is being jailed for his refusal to accept “the hellish ideology of transgenderism”.
Mr Burke is released from prison for a third time, with Justice David Nolan asserting that keeping him incarcerated is “no longer in society’s interests”.
The judge states Mr Burke has clearly decided that his best course of action is to be seen as a “martyr”, and doubles the daily fine payable by the teacher for attending Wilson’s Hospital to €1,400. Mr Burke talks over the judge repeatedly while the judgement is delivered.
The High Court appoints a receiver to collect nearly €80,000 in unpaid fines stemming from the daily penalty imposed on Mr Burke in January 2023. Later the same month, the State is given permission to access Mr Burke’s bank account to claim €40,000 in unpaid fines.
Mr Burke is ordered imprisoned by the High Court for a fourth time for “repeated and flagrant” breaches of the court order keeping him from attending Wilson’s Hospital.
For several days, gardaí are unable to locate him to return him to prison, despite his posting a video message during that period from outside the school gates in Multyfarnham. He is finally returned to prison a week after the order on November 25.
Mr Burke is released from prison for a fourth time on January 14, and immediately begins attending at the gates of Wilson’s Hospital each morning once more.
He is reimprisoned on January 20 for his continued violation of the permanent injunction against him. Mr Burke has now spent more than 500 days in prison and been fined more than €200,000 for his conduct.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
