A JUDGE HAS said “it is clear” that Enoch Burke “has something to hide” by refusing to comply with legal requests to provide the High Court with details of his income.

Judge Brian Cregan made the remarks this morning when delivering the third in a series of judgments in the latest case taken by Wilson’s Hospital School against the teacher.

Burke has been in Mountjoy Prison since November for contempt of court for continuing to breach an injunction that requires him to stay away from the Westmeath-based school.

He has been placed on administrative leave following his dismissal for gross misconduct after he interrupted a religious service and confronted the school’s principal.

The latest case was brought by the school after Burke once again began trespassing on its grounds when the new school term began in September.

Burke has argued that he is being persecuted for his religious opposition to a request by the school to address a transgender pupil by their preferred pronouns, something which was strongly rejected by judge Cregan in his initial judgment in November.

In a new ruling today, judge Cregan said that Burke and his family were using the courts to pursue a political campaign against transgender rights.

“Mr Burke has made a calculation that it brings him notoriety and his fifteen minutes of fame,” he said.

“It could also be because he and his family wish to make money from this campaign.”

He referenced failed attempts by the court to obtain statements of Burke’s income and expenditure, which have been sought to ascertain whether he is able to pay more than €225,000 in fines for repeatedly breaching an order to stay away from the school.

“Mr Burke has refused to comply with a number of court orders directing him to furnish an affidavit of income and expenditure,” the judge said.

“It is clear that he has something to hide in this regard.”

Contempt of court

The judge also addressed misinformation that has spread online since Burke’s most recent court appearance last week.

In the aftermath of last week’s hearing, false claims have spread widely online suggesting that Burke has been sentenced to “life” in prison for his beliefs, alongside images of the teacher entering the Four Courts in handcuffs.

Judge Cregan described these claims as “nonsense” and said Burke could leave prison in two circumstances: by purging his contempt; or when the ongoing dispute between himself and Wilson’s Hospital School comes to an end.

The judge said that if a disciplinary appeal panel decides that Burke was not properly dismissed, then he will be restored to his position as a teacher in the school and will have a right to be there.

“If, on the other hand, Mr Burke loses his appeal to the disciplinary appeal panel, then his dismissal for gross misconduct is confirmed,” judge Cregan said.

“In that case, Mr Burke’s self-created legal fiction that he can turn up for work every day because he is still employed by the school will (one hopes) come to an end.”

He also said there was no reason why Burke should be released every few months “to take a holiday from Mountjoy Prison” – as had previously been the case when school was not in term – when others who were imprisoned for contempt were not offered the same privilege.

Judge Cregan described Burke’s behaviour in the courts as an “assault on truth” and said that the lies told by him were “one of the most disturbing aspects” of the case.

He said that Burke knows he is lying by claiming to be in prison because of his opposition to transgender rights, but continues to do so.

“The idea that Mr Burke is being imprisoned because of his religious beliefs is nonsense,” judge Cregan said.

“This court does not imprison people for their religious beliefs. Mr Burke is being imprisoned because he is trespassing on other people’s property. No more. No less.

“Any statements by Mr Burke (or other members of his family) that he is being imprisoned because of his opposition to transgenderism are lies.”

Burke joined the hearing remotely from Mountjoy Prison, but was muted at the start of proceedings after he objected to the removal of his mother Martina, his sister Ammi and his brother Isaac at the start of the hearing.

Judge Cregan ordered the removal of the Burkes before delivering his judgment, citing their behaviour in court in recent weeks; all three, alongside Enoch, are facing criminal contempt charges for disrupting the latest series of proceedings.

The three Burkes were physically removed from the courtroom by gardaí this morning after refusing to leave.