Burke’s allegations are ‘slanderous,’ says judge

A High Court judge has strongly rejected and described criticism made by jailed teacher Enoch Burke of other members of the judiciary as ‘libelous’ and ‘totally baseless’.

Judge Brian O’Moore dismissed allegations of wrongdoing by Mr Burke against judges who had given rulings in proceedings brought against Multyfarnham employer’s Wilson Hospital School in court earlier This year.

Mr Burke, who has been at Mountjoy since early September, was back in the High Court last Monday to seek a stay of the full hearing of the action brought against him by the school until his appeal against a injunction obtained by his employer has been determined.

Mr. Burke claims that in violation of his constitutional rights to freedom of religion and religious practice, he was imprisoned for his opposition to transgenderism.

The school board rejects that claim and says the case concerns Mr Burke’s refusal to comply with the terms of his paid suspension from his job.

In his court submissions, Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian, is appealing the High Court’s decision to put in place injunctions preventing him from teaching or attending school until the case is resolved. fully cut.

The dispute over the injunctions will focus on the school’s right to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings, stemming from alleged gross misconduct against Mr Burke.

Mr Burke’s appeal against the injunctions and other issues is due to be heard by the Court of Appeal in mid-February.

In his submissions, he noted that his appeal should be heard before the full hearing. He said he had a very good chance of succeeding in his appeal against High Court orders against disciplinary proceedings which he called “manifestly unlawful”.

He claims that the findings against him made by several High Court judges should be considered by the CoA before a full hearing is heard.

He said orders had been made against him by High Court judges which were ‘fundamentally wrong’, amounted to a ‘shameful’ ‘miscarriage of justice’ and should be set aside.

Judge Max Barrett, he said, had said the case was “not about transgender”.

That was basically not the case, Mr Burke said, adding that ‘99.9 per cent of people on the street’ think the case is about his opposition to transgenderism and that he was jailed because of his belief. religious belief that there are only two genders. .

Mr Burke added that he also disagrees with the finding of Madam Justice Eileen Roberts, when she denied his application for an order that would have ended his work suspension, that the case did not involve his religious belief and his right to freely express his deep Christian attachment. beliefs.

During his submissions, Mr Burke said the High Court judges should not have made any order against him, adding that they had acted in breach of his rights, which are enshrined in and are ‘the cornerstone’ of the Irish constitution.

In issuing orders against him which resulted in his imprisonment, he said judges, who are well paid by the taxpayers and paid many times more than a teacher earns, were not respecting the oath of office they had lent before God.

He also expressed fears that if the orders are upheld, thousands of other teachers and workers could, like him, be jailed for expressing their religious objections to being transgender.

The court rulings against him, he said, were “a dark day” for religious freedoms, and it was imperative that those orders be heard in the appeals court first.

He also described the full school hearing against him as “an abomination”, but says he has no objection to the full hearing taking place after the appeal hearing.

The school, represented by Rosemary Mallon Bl, opposed Mr Burke’s request for a stay, on the grounds, among other things, that he would not be harmed by an early hearing, and that even if he were successful in his appeal, the dispute was to be fully heard by the High Search.

Following the conclusion of the parties’ submissions, Judge O’Moore said that although he had allowed the teacher to make submissions to the court without interruption, he wished to clarify that Mr Burke’s allegations against named members of Irish justice were “quite without merit.”

He also described the language used by Mr Burke when he described the judges as presiding over “a cover-up” or “a seam” by the courts against Mr Burke and his beliefs as “inappropriate”.

The judge also reminded Mr Burke of a quote from Jesus’ Bible, known as the ‘golden rule’, that you should ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’.

It was fundamental Christian teaching and the judge doubted that Mr Burke’s references to judges and others could be applied to this quote.

Judge O’Moore said he reserved his decision on the stay request and would give his decision “in due course”.

However, the judge said it would not be possible to have the full dispute heard before Christmas.

The teacher remains jailed in Mountjoy Prison for his refusal to comply with a High Court injunction to stay away and not teach at Multyfarnham School, in a row which he says centers on his objection to transgenderism.

The school has brought proceedings against Mr. Burke for his alleged breach of the terms of his full-pay suspension from the school.

Mr Burke has appealed various decisions of the High Court, including the granting of the injunction, which is to remain in place until the High Court has ruled on the case, ordering him to remain at the deviation from the school before the Court of Appeal.

Mr Burke was subsequently jailed for contempt of court last September.

He will remain there until he agrees to comply with a court order prohibiting him from attending or attempting to teach classes at the school.

The school obtained the order sentencing Mr. Burke, who had been suspended pending hearing a disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against him, to jail for breaching the terms of an injunction requiring him to stay away from school until the disciplinary proceedings are completed.

Mr Burke, a history and German teacher, was suspended on full pay at the end of last August pending an investigation into alleged misconduct.

The school claims its refusal to comply with the injunction was disruptive to students at the school.

In a counterclaim, Mr Burke, who says he should never have been subject to disciplinary proceedings after expressing his objections to school management and staff about how to address to a student who wants to change from male to female, asks for various orders and statements against the school.

He seeks various statements, including that the school’s disciplinary proceedings against him are illegal and constitute a violation of his constitutional rights, including his rights to freedom of speech, conscience and religion.

He is also seeking various orders preventing the school from continuing with both his paid administrative leave, the disciplinary proceedings against him, and an order preventing the school from removing him from his position.