Enoch Burke will spend Christmas in jail for contempt of court

Jailed teacher Enoch Burke will remain behind bars for Christmas after he (again) refused to obey a court order to stay away from the secondary school he is employed at.

Despite his refusal to comply, the teacher can secure his release at any point by coming before the court and purging his contempt.

He pleaded with the court and Mr Justice Conor Dignam via a video link from Mountjoy to use its discretion to "free me for Christmas".

He told the court that he was "not a thief, a murderer or a drug dealer" and was behind bars because of his religious objections to "transgenderism".

The judge said that he was not prepared to release Mr Burke, given that the teacher at Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath is not prepared to purge his contempt and comply with what the judge said is "a valid court order".

Burke's parents Sean and Martina Burke had an angry response while present in court with two of their other children, strongly criticising the judge and the judiciary over the jailing of their son.

Sean Burke said the court's refusal to release his son from prison was "unbelievable," adding that son was not a criminal. He remarked that he had brought his son up to have strong Christian values, and the objections to "transgenderism" are in the bible [not true], "from the book of Genesis to Revelations" Mr Burke Snr added.

Enoch Burke's mother said the judiciary will face judgement from "a higher power" and "God Almighty" in relation to their decisions regarding her son.

She said that the case was "all about transgenderism" and her son's constitutional right to freely express his religious beliefs, which it has been claim have been breached: "Shame upon you."

Mr Justice Dignam said that he was "not going to enter into a debate" with the Burkes about the court's ruling.

In refusing to purge his contempt, Mr Burke said as the time of the year when the birth of Christ is celebrated by most of the world [not necessarily true], he should be released adding that "I am in prison for my religious beliefs".

In his submissions, Mr Burke also criticised a decision not to allow him to appear before the court in person.

Mr Burke has been incarcerated at Mountjoy since September over his refusal to comply with High Court injunction to stay away from and not teach at the Co Westmeath school.

He claims the row centres around his objection to "transgenderism", and to describe a student at the school who wishes to transition as a 'they' rather than a 'he' or a 'she'. It should be noted that he doesn't actually teach this student, who has had to face an unwanted media frenzy.

The school brought High Court proceedings against Mr Burke over his alleged failure to comply with the terms of his suspension on full pay from the school.

The school, represented by Rosemary Mallon Bl, obtained the order committing Mr Burke, who had been suspended pending the hearing of a disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against him, to prison over his failure to comply with the terms of an injunction requiring him to stay away from the school until the disciplinary process has been completed.

Enoch Burke, a History and German teacher, was suspended on full pay late last August pending an investigation into alleged misconduct. The school stated that his refusal to comply with the injunction was disruptive to the school's students.

Burke's appeal against the injunctions, which resulted in contempt of court proceedings, and his eventual incarceration for failing to abide by an order obtained by the school are due to be heard in February.

The full hearing of the action brought against him by the school remains pending before the High Court.