School seeks order to seize Enoch Burke’s assets over breach of court ruling

A Co Westmeath secondary school has returned to the High Court claiming that teacher Enoch Burke has again breached the terms of an order preventing him from attending at its premises.

In a motion brought before the court, Wilson’s Hospital secondary school is seeking an order for the court to sequester or remove Mr Burke’s assets from him, rather than seeking to re-activate the order committing the Co Mayo teacher to prison.

Ms Justice Tony Hunt was told on Tuesday by Rosemary Mallon Bl for the school that, in breach of court orders made last year, Mr Burke attended at Wilson’s Hospital School premises last week when staff and students returned from the Christmas holidays.

He has returned to the school on several subsequent days, counsel added.

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Counsel said during the brief hearing that the school was not seeking an order from the court directing the gardaí to arrest Mr Burke and bring him before the court to answer the claim that he is again in contempt of court.

This is because Mr Burke is due before the court on Wednesday in respect of his own application for an injunction preventing the school holding a disciplinary meeting concerning allegation of misconduct against Mr Burke on January 19th next.

Counsel said the school will fully oppose Mr Burke’s motion and wants its contempt motion to be heard in conjunction with the teacher’s injunction application.

Counsel said the school intended to serve the legal documents in relation to its latest application personally on Mr Burke.

Mr Justice Hunt said he was satisfied to grant the school permission, on an ex-parte basis, to serve short notice of the contempt proceedings on Mr Burke.

The judge said that the school’s decision not to seek an attachment order “made sense” adding that the application before the court would “get the ball rolling”.

Mr Burke, the judge said, may need time to respond to the contempt application.

Mr Burke spent over 100 days in Mountjoy Prison arising out of his refusal to comply with an injunction preventing him from being on the school’s campus or attempting to teach any classes while he is suspended on full pay, pending the outcome of an internal disciplinary investigation into alleged misconduct.

He was released before Christmas.

Mr Burke claims that his suspension, and the subsequent court orders obtained against him, are flawed and unlawful.

He claims that the actions brought against him stem from his opposition to transgenderism, and his refusal to adhere to a direction from the school last year to refer to a student at the school who wishes to transition as “they” and not “he”.

He said to comply with the school’s direction, and indeed the court orders obtained against him amount to a breach of his deeply held Christian beliefs, as well as his constitutional rights, including his right to freedom of religious expression.

In a ruling last month, Mr Justice Brian O’Moore ordered that Mr Burke be released from prison, stating that this was one of those “rare cases” where a coercive imprisonment should stop, for the moment, even though Mr Burke did not purge his contempt.

The judge added that the school could come back to court and seek Mr Burke’s attachment and if he does not comply with the order to stay away from the school.

The school’s application on Tuesday is the latest round of the ongoing legal battle between the Church of Ireland school and the teacher.

Last week Mr Burke secured permission from the court to serve short notice of the injunction application on the school where he seeks to halt the disciplinary process.

He told the court that he received a letter from the school on December 22nd last informing him that a disciplinary hearing, which had originally been fixed for last September but was put on hold following court hearings which resulted in his incarceration for contempt, will go ahead on January 19th next.

That matter is due to return before the Court on Wednesday morning before Mr Justice O’Moore, when the new legal term commences.