A teacher jailed for refusing to use a transgender student’s gender-neutral pronoun and ignoring his suspension from teaching has again refused to comply with a court order banning him from his school.
Enoch Burke, an evangelical Christian, told the Irish Supreme Court that he was obeying the order forbidding him to teach at his school after refusing to address a transitional student because “they” would violate my religious beliefs and deny my God.
Burke, who spent two nights in a Dublin prison for contempt of court, told the judge today: “I can be a Christian in Mountjoy prison or I can be a pagan acceptor of transgenderism outside.”
Burke was suspended from his Westmeath school for refusing to address the pupil as ‘she’ instead of ‘he’, as requested by the pupil and their parents in May and approved by the Church of Ireland school.
Burke was later arrested Monday morning and jailed for violating a temporary court order not to teach or be physically present at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.
The teacher had refused to take paid leave from school, the court heard, and would sit in an empty classroom and declare that he was there to work.
Burke returned to court today and the school board granted an extension of a preliminary injunction who forbade the teacher to teach at the school.
After Judge Michael Quinn delivered his verdict, Mr Burke said, “It is madness that I am being led from this courtroom to a prison, but I will not give up my Christian faith.”
Teacher Enoch Burke (pictured Monday being taken to Bridewell Garda station in Garda custody) was arrested yesterday morning for violating a court order not to teach, or be physically present at, his Westmeath school
Enoch Burke (pictured) refused to address a transition student as ‘she’ instead of ‘he’
Burke told Judge Michael Quinn, “I’m a teacher and I don’t want to go to jail. I want to be in my class today, I was there this morning when I was arrested.’
“I love my school, with the motto Res Non Verba, actions and not words, but I’m here today because I said I wouldn’t call a boy a girl,” he said.
He added: ‘Transgenderism is against my Christian faith. It is against the scriptures, against the ethos of the Church of Ireland and of my school.”
Referring to his suspension, Mr Burke said: ‘It is extraordinary and reprehensible that anyone’s religious beliefs in this case could ever be considered grounds for an allegation of wrongdoing.
“My religious beliefs are not misconduct. They are not gross misconduct. They never will be. They are dear to me. I will never deny them or betray them, and I will never bow to an order that obliges me to do so. It’s just not possible for me to do that.’
He described his suspension as “unreasonable, unjust and unfair”. He added: “The severity of the suspension has been toned down. It’s a serious step.
“It has damaged my good character and reputation, especially in the teaching profession, where one is so close to many members of the local community. It leaves a mark on what has been a flawless learning experience for me.’
He asked how he could go back to school and bow to something he thought was “obviously wrong,” which he also described as a “breach of my conscience.” Burke told the court he believed that “in this country, teachers are forced to participate… they are forced to use the pronoun ‘she’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’.”
Judge Quinn said he was not ruling on the merits of Burke’s arguments regarding his religious beliefs. Pictured: Wilson’s Hospital School in County Westmeath, Ireland
Enoch Burke (pictured with his brother Isaac who received a SCCUL Enterprise Student Award in 2013) told Judge Quinn, “I’m a teacher and I don’t want to go to jail. I want to be in my class today, I was there this morning when I was arrested’
Rosemary Mallon BL, on behalf of the board of directors, told Judge Michael Quinn that her client had no choice but to ask the court to send Burke to jail for violation of a court order.
Judge Quinn said he was not ruling on the merits of Burke’s arguments regarding his religious beliefs or his suspension, but only on whether there was a willful violation of a court order.
He was admitted to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.
The suspended teacher is one of 10 siblings, all of whom were homeschooled by their evangelical mother, Martina Burke.
The matriarch founded Burke Christian School in Castlebar, which she advertises in local newspapers.
The Burkes are a notable family from Mayo, who have previously campaigned and launched protests against the referendum on abortion and marriage equality.
Some family members have also been involved in high-profile lawsuits, including an appeal to the court over religious discrimination.
During the pandemic, the family put up posters in Castlebar Market Square and protested Mayo University Hospital.
The evangelical family has also protested gay marriage, and Castlebar’s Gay Pride parade, the Irish independent reported.
Four years ago, Ms Burke called LGBT+ training for school leaders ‘amoral’, arguing it would ‘stigmatize modesty and inhibitions’.
And last year, four of her children, Ammi, Enoch, Isaac and Kezia Burke, lost a lawsuit against the University of Galway that stemmed from their views on same-sex marriage.
Martina Burke, mother of 10, is a qualified teacher and founded the Burke Christian School in Castlebar
Pictured: Kezia Burke, Enoch Burke, Isaac Burke and Ammi Burke in Dublin in 2021, outside the Four Courts. At the time, the siblings were fighting a case of religious discrimination
They were banned for life from joining the associations after distributing flyers against same-sex marriage.
The siblings claimed they faced religious discrimination, but the college said the ban was not about religion, the Irish Independent reported.
During the Irish abortion referendum, the Burkes regularly protested outside the constituency of then Prime Minister Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, the paper also reported.