‘Anti-trans’ teacher jailed for third time because he won’t stay away from school that fired him
Enoch Burke has been jailed for a third time (@DrHaroldNews/Twitter)
An Irish teacher, Enoch Burke, who was fired for refusing to use a student’s correct pronouns, has been sent to prison for a third time for repeatedly failing to stay away from the school where he used to work.
Enoch Burke was arrested by police at Wilson’s Hospital School, in Heathland, County Westmeath, on Monday (2 September) and taken to the High Court in Dublin, where a judge ruled he was in breach of an existing court order and would be returned to Mountjoy prison.
Burke, an evangelical Christian, was suspended by the school in 2022 for allegedly confronting the head teacher and disrupting school events after being directed to use a transgender student’s chosen pronouns.
An injunction was granted by a judge, preventing Burke from going to Wilson’s Hospital School..
The teacher breached the order and was jailed in September 2022 for contempt of court. He spent three months in prison before being released, but was jailed again last September for visiting the school again.
During an appearance at an appeal court, Burke’s family had to be dragged screaming from the building. His sister, Ammi, interrupted the proceedings, shouting about his constitutional rights, while others accused the judges of “bowing before the altar of transgenderism”.
The family have been compared to fundamentalist Christian anti-gay activists the Westboro Baptist Church.
Burke’s beliefs have repeatedly been described as “anti-trans” online.
Late last month the school’s board of management sought orders for the teacher’s attachment and committal due to Mr Burke’s alleged ongoing refusal to comply with High Court orders requiring him to stay away from the school, the Irish Times reports.
During his latest court appearance, Burke reportedly accused the court of denying him his religious rights to believe that there are only two genders and called the decision to return him to prison a “mockery of justice”.
The Irish former teacher had earlier told Sky News: “I teach everyone who’s in front of me. I teach every single student.
“But when I am commanded, when I’m told that I can’t have my religious belief any more, when I’m told I have to confess belief in transgenderism, instead of my simple belief, which is male and female, that’s a breach of my rights.”
The school board previously said Burke’s continued attendance at the school was causing “severe disruption for staff and students”.
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