Enoch Burke Protests Again at Wilson School and Hospital

Teacher Enoch Burke protests again at Wilson Hospital School as the new school year begins.

Mr. Burke was released from Mountjoy Prison in late June, where he had been held since September last year for refusing to leave a private boarding school in County Westmeath.

In ordering his release, Judge Mark Sanfey did not require Mr Burke to clear himself of contempt of court and agree to abide by the terms of an order made against him last year.

In a previous ruling, Judge Alexander Owens ordered a permanent ban on Mr Burke from the school grounds.

Judge Sanfey expressed hope that the teacher would use this time to think about the situation and warned him that the ban remained in effect.

He said that if there was a further breach of the order, he would not hesitate to consider the school's new application to return Mr Burke to prison.

Police sources confirmed he had turned up at the school but said the matter was a matter for school authorities to deal with.

A statement from Garda Headquarters said: “I refer to your request and confirm that this is an ongoing civil matter. The Garda Síochána have no further comment.” Mr Burke was jailed for contempt of court for a second time in September for refusing to comply with the order.

In total, the teacher spent more than 400 days in prison.

After the court hearing, Mr. Burke left the courthouse with members of his family.

He appeared in the High Court as part of his bid to overturn what he said was a “seriously flawed” and “unconstitutional” order by Mr Justice Owens that formed the basis for his detention.

Mr Burke has consistently denied being in contempt of court and claimed he was wrongly jailed because of his objections to being “transgender” after the school ordered the then pupil to be referred to by a different pronoun.

Mr. Burke argued that in his decision, Judge Owens completely ignored the teacher's constitutional rights to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion and practice when he refused to comply with the school's order to call the student by another name and use the pronoun “they.”

The Burke family were thrust into the public eye again earlier this week when they complained about An Post delivering their mail in a van celebrating the Pride movement, including a rainbow in honour of the movement.

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