Latest news with #EnochBurke
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Irish Times
State not opposed to overturning public order conviction of Jemima Burke
The State will not oppose an order overturning a public order conviction imposed last year on Jemima Burke in connection with videoing a coroner and hospital staff, the High Court has heard. However, the State argued the matter should still be sent back to the original court for a new hearing. In November, the High Court permitted Ms Burke to seek a review of her case after she alleged her constitutional rights were breached when she was arrested, charged and convicted of a public order offence within a matter of hours. Ms Burke, a sister of the teacher Enoch Burke, was convicted of a public order offence on June 20th last year by Judge Vincent Deane in Ballina District Court, Co Mayo. READ MORE On Thursday she compared the conviction to 'something you would see in the Middle Ages'. Ms Burke (30), a management consultant in professional services and a University of Galway graduate in journalism, said she attended an inquest in Swinford, Co Mayo, on June 20th, concerning the death of a sepsis patient at Mayo University Hospital (MUH). She said the man spent 42 hours on a trolley, then went missing while in hospital care and was later found dead in a river in Castlebar. She said she used her phone to film the coroner and several MUH staff on the public street during the inquest's break for lunch. A garda arrested Ms Burke, confiscated her phone and brought her to Ballina Garda station where she was detained in a cell for more than two hours. She was then charged with two public order offences relating to a breach of the peace. She said she refused to sign a bail bond when she appeared before Judge Deane. Judge Deane, she said, told her it would be unjust to adjourn the matter if she was not going to sign the bond, that there was little chance of her going to prison and that he had 'to protect your interests at some level, too'. Ms Burke said a garda had made a number of allegations in the trial, including that she had obstructed paths of individuals and shoved her phone into their faces. She said the phone footage would clearly have had probative value, but it was in the possession of the gardaí at that stage. Judge Deane convicted her of one of the public order offences, under section six of the Public Order Act, with the other taken into consideration. He fined her €350. At the High Court on Thursday, Ms Burke argued she had been the victim of a 'serious' miscarriage of justice as there was 'excessive haste' in hearing the original case and no disclosure was made to her at her trial. She also had no legal representation, had been detained in a cell for two hours and was 'railroaded' into trial just 55 minutes after leaving the cells. Kieran Kelly, for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told Ms Justice Sara Phelan she can exercise her power of discretion to remit the matter to the District Court for a different judge to hear. A remittal would remedy matters for Ms Burke and give her the time required to prepare a case, he said. Mr Kelly said the DPP was not opposing the quashing of the original conviction. Ms Justice Phelan reserved judgment.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St Patrick's Gala in DC Crashed by Controversial Irish Christian Fundamentalists
A St Patrick's Day gala in Washington was disrupted by members of a well-known fundamentalist Christian family from Ireland on Thursday night, as they attempted to get the attention of Ireland's prime minister, or taoiseach. Footage from journalist Sean Defoe shows Isaac and Ammi Burke disrupting the Ireland Funds Gala alongside their mother, Martina, to protest the imprisonment of their brother, Enoch, in a high-profile legal case. Footage shows the Burkes interrupting a speech by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who was in town after meeting US President Donald Trump, before being forcibly removed by security. 'Why is Enoch Burke in prison for not accepting transgenderism?' Isaac Burke repeatedly shouts. Enoch Burke has been repeatedly imprisoned for defying court orders which mandated him to stay away from his former workplace, Wilson's Hospital School in County Westmeath. Burke was initially suspended from his teaching position following a confrontation with the school's principal over his refusal to address a transgender student by their preferred pronouns. Credit: Sean Defoe via Storyful That were first planted. Hey. Enoch Burke. Enoch Burke in prison for 513 days. Enoch Burke in prison. Enoch Burke. Not accepting transgenderism. Why is he in prison for transgenderism. Why? for not accepting. Martin has a prison. Now the person. I think You. What I Education imprisoned by Martin. strippers imprison my son for 500 days for not approving transgender ideology. And now he's stripping an upright, an upright sincere, well, intelligent, educated young man, mid-30s. Present under the watch of Martin and his government. My son has been imprisoned for over 500 days for not approving with sexual offenders, murderers. How dare. Martin in there. He is phoning the American people. The Irish people live in fear. They live in fear. Teachers are afraid in schools. Yes they are. Every single child is taught LGBTQ plus bisexual transgenderism as fact. It's a sad thing. It's a sad day for Ireland. We need President Trump to know the truth. Martin is fooling him, deceiving you. He is not telling them the truth, that the Irish people are living in fear. They are. We are afraid to have a Christian belief in Ireland because me or Martin. Says acceptance is key of every perversity. You got the entrance for 513. I'm sorry we're on the on the side. I can be on that side. I need my shoe. We will get it from the entrance to the side. You're not on that side you guys do, please. Thank you so much. Go get your shoe. Thank you. Just don't block the door. Thank you. Not block the door.
Russia Today
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Irish teacher punished over trans student's pronouns
An Irish schoolteacher who refused to use 'they' instead of 'he' when addressing a biologically male transgender student, citing his Christian beliefs, could now be stripped of his salary, according to The Irish Times. He has already spent more than 500 days in prison. Enoch Burke, formerly a teacher of history and German at Wilson's Hospital School in County Westmeath, has been at the center of a prolonged legal and ethical dispute since 2022. Burke was suspended after he opposed the school principal's request to refer to a 'transitioning' student by a new name and the pronoun 'they.' Following a hearing on Friday, the High Court of Ireland will be asked to appoint a receiver to recover unpaid fines from Burke's salary. If approved, the move would enable authorities to collect €79,100 – an amount he has accrued through daily €700 fines for showing up at Wilson's Hospital School in defiance of court orders to stay away. The teacher, who comes from an evangelical Christian background, had repeatedly failed to heed a court order barring him from entering the grounds of the school. 'I teach everyone who's in front of me. I teach every single student,' Burke told SkyNews last year. 'But when I am commanded, when I'm told that I can't have my religious belief anymore, when I'm told I have to confess belief in transgenderism, instead of my simple belief, which is male and female, that's just a breach simply of my rights.' Although suspended with full pay in May 2022 pending an investigation into alleged misconduct, Enoch Burke continued to show up at the school, leading to his imprisonment for contempt of court in September 2022. To date, he has spent a total of 512 days in jail across three separate periods for defying court orders. Despite being dismissed from the school, Burke continues to receive his salary under administrative leave while his appeal over his termination is still pending. Recently, Justice David Nolan doubled Burke's daily fine to €1,400 after it was revealed that he had entered the school through a student entrance and attempted to join a school assembly. Nolan said by his rough calculations, Burke owes around €190,000 so far as a result of a €700 a day fine imposed on him by the court in January 2023. The teacher has accused the courts of failing to recognize his constitutional right to religious freedom, and said that these rights were breached when he was asked to refer to a student as they/them. According to its website, 'Wilson's Hospital School is, to this day, a place where true love of knowledge makes all study a discovery and joy. Our school maintains a distinctive Church of Ireland ethos, fostering Christian practice and teaching, promoting dignity and respect for the individual and committed to the provision of a caring family atmosphere in which education can flourish.'
