Enoch Burke risks prison again as Westmeath school seeks new court order

On Tuesday, September 5, Wilson’s Hospital School brought a new application before the High Court that could see dismissed teacher Enoch Burke return to prison. The new application was filed over Burke’s alleged ongoing attendance at the school despite court orders mandating him to stay away.

Lawyers representing the school told the High Court that they were seeking permission to notify Enoch Burke of their intention to bring proceedings against him. The school intends to seek orders directing Burke to be brought to court again and return to prison unless he complies with a permanent injunction against him, which mandates him to stay away from the institution’s premises.

The permanent injunction against Burke was granted by Justice Alexander Owens earlier this year and restrains the dismissed teacher from Wilson’s Hospital School unless given express permission. Despite this order, Burke appeared again at the school on the first day of the new term, August 28, and has continued to do so every day since.

As the Irish Times reports, Barrister Rosemary Mallon, who represents Wilson’s Hospital School, told the court that Burke’s attendance at the institution since the beginning of the new school year “is causing severe disruption for staff and students”. She explained that the school principal, Frank Milling, and his staff have to spend a large part of their working day dealing with Burke’s presence at their institution.

Moreover, the court heard that, on several occasions, principal Milling had “to close doors” to prevent Burke from entering the building, as on the first day he allegedly “took up position in a corridor”.

Barrister Mallon also explained that the school had explored various options to deal with Burke’s continued disruption, including having discussions with Gardaí or hiring private security personnel. However, she told the court that those options were not deemed feasible “for a variety of reasons”. She added that it was “with great reluctance” that the school had returned to court a year after their initial application against Burke.

Indeed, the legal battle between Burke and Wilson’s Hospital School started in August 2022, when the institution obtained an injunction prohibiting him from showing up at their premises. The teacher had previously been suspended due to his alleged conduct at a school event where he harassed the former principal and publicly disputed a trans student’s preferred name and pronouns.

Following these events, Burke was arrested over his refusal to comply with court orders, spent 108 days in prison and faced a fine surpassing €140,000, in addition to being ordered to pay the legal costs for the case and €15,000 in damages to Wilson’s Hospital School.

Justice Emily Egan described the lengthy case involving Enoch Burke as “a saga” and granted the school permission to serve notice of the new application against Burke. She directed Burke to be served personally with the application and then adjourned the matter to Friday.

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