Judge orders Enoch Burke to be imprisoned once more for contempt of court

By Bairbre Holmes, PA

A judge has said Enoch Burke and his family have committed “the most deliberate, sustained and concerted attack” on the civil courts and the rule of law in recent times as he jailed the former teacher.

Sentencing Mr Burke at the High Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan said fines and security measures have not deterred Mr Burke from trespassing at Wilson’s Hospital School, where he used to teach.

Mr Burke has previously been sent to prison for contempt of court over the legal dispute with the board of management of the school, 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 Justice Cregan said Mr Burke had “not paid a euro” of fines imposed by courts and said it was “clear” security guards had failed to deter him from “breaching court orders and entering school premises”.

He said there was “no longer any option left to enforce the order of the court other than to imprison Mr Burke for repeated and flagrant breaches of the court order”.

However, he added that “Mr Burke has the keys to his own prison and, if he wishes to purge his contempt, then he can be released”.

Mr Burke was not in court for the sentencing, and Mr Justice Cregan ordered his immediate committal to prison.