Burke claims the school is discriminating against his religious belief.
Enoch Burke’s fines have totalled €32,200 today for contempt of court when he turned up at his former place of employment despite High Court orders directing him not to.
Each day, Burke has defied the court order and presents at Wilson’s Hospital school in Multyfarnham, County Westmeath, he is fined an additional €700.
Enoch Burke has arrived at Wilson’s Hospital School on Tuesday morning, despite being dismissed from his teaching position by the school last Friday pic.twitter.com/Lp2yHFrJge
— Fiachra Gallagher (@fiachragllagher) January 24, 2023
Today represents the 46th day of Burke continuing to show up outside the grounds of the school following the introduction of court-stipulated fines.
Even in the arctic conditions experienced by the country last week, the schoolteacher continued to defy the court order, appearing outside the school gates whilst braving the snow and freezing temperatures.
The surpassing of the €32,200 tally of fines comes in the wake of the incredulous scenes at the Four Courts in Dublin last week, in which members of the Burke and members of his family were forcibly removed from the courtroom by members of the Gardaí.
During that courtroom appearance, Burke failed in yet another attempt to appeal against High Court injunctions directing him not to trespass at the school.
There were unprecedented and chaotic scenes at the Court of Appeal as six members of the Burke family were forcibly removed from the courtroom by gardaí.
It came as the Court of Appeal dismissed Enoch Burke's challenges to court orders | Read more: https://t.co/qRYdku42sn pic.twitter.com/rKQvqQ8yHY
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 7, 2023
Reacting to the dismissal of his appeal, Burke and his family members interrupted the verdicts being delivered by the three-judge court, which ultimately culminated in their removal by Gardaí.
The Burke family took particular objection to comments made by Mr Justice George Birmingham, causing them to rise to their feet and loudly object to the judge’s statements.
Burke has previously spent 108 days in prison following his conviction for being in contempt of court, however, he was released prior to the festive period following a judge ruling that the schoolteacher was “exploiting his imprisonment for his own ends”.
Burke and his family members were forcibly removed from the Four Courts last week. (Credit: iStock)In lieu of this, the court system decided not to imprison Burke for a second time, but rather impose the hefty €700 a day fine instead in the hope that it would persuade the teacher to stop presenting at the school.
Burke’s now well-publicised suspension came last August after the teacher, an evangelical Christian, refused to comply with a request from his then-principal to call a transgender pupil by a new name and preferred pronouns.
Ultimately sacked by the school board of management in January, a decision he is currently appealing to a tribunal, Burke claims that “the school is discriminating against his religious beliefs”.
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*Feature image via Leah Farrell of Rolling News.
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