Latest news with #MsBurke
Extra.ie
4 days ago
- Extra.ie
High Court quashes conviction for Burke sister over filming of coroner outside court
Jemima Burke has had her public order conviction quashed and will not face a retrial – but she will not be awarded any compensation, the High Court has ruled. Ms Burke, a sister of controversial trans-row teacher Enoch Burke, had complained that her trial was like 'something you would hear in the Middle Ages', after she was given no time to prepare her defence. She had been accused of a public order offence for allegedly using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. Pic: Collins Courts High Court Judge Sara Phelan said Ms Burke had been arrested at around 2 pm on June 20 last year in Swinford, Co. Mayo. The court had heard that Ms Burke, 30, a management consultant in professional services and a journalism graduate, had attended an inquest in Swinford earlier that day concerning the death of a sepsis patient at Mayo University Hospital (MUH). Ms Burke 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 during the inquest lunch break, she used her phone to film the coroner and several MUH staff outside on the public street. Enoch Burke. Pic: Collins Courts A Garda arrested her, confiscated her phone and took her to Ballina Garda Station, where she was detained in a cell for more than two hours. She was charged with two public order offences and taken to Ballina District Court, where it was alleged she had blocked the path of people she was videoing. Judge Phelan said when it became apparent to District Court Judge Vincent Deane that Ms Burke was not prepared, as was her entitlement, to enter into a bail bond, he decided to hear the case immediately. She said this did not give Ms Burke time to prepare her defence by, for example, engaging legal representation or ascertaining if there were witnesses available. Judge Phelan said the judge appeared to have done this in order to avoid Ms Burke being held in custody awaiting trial for a length of time which could exceed any likely sentence. Pic: Collins Courts Judge Deane convicted Ms Burke of one of the public order offences, under Section 6 of the Public Order Act, with the other taken into consideration, and fined her €350. Ms Burke complained to the High Court that she had been the victim of a 'serious' miscarriage of justice and had been 'railroaded into a trial'. The State told the High Court it would not oppose the quashing of her conviction, but argued that she should face a retrial. Judge Phelan said the trial judge's approach had been well-intentioned, but Ms Burke had an absolute right under the Constitution to a fair trial in the due course of law. She said it was self-evident that the trial did not meet the minimum requirements of a fair trial, and she would quash the conviction. The High Court had the power to bring proceedings to an end, she said, and was not obliged to order a retrial, following consideration of the justice and fairness of a case. She said the offence was one of the most minor in the statute book, and Ms Burke had 'disclosed her hand' when giving evidence herself during the trial, without sufficient time to prepare her defence. She rejected claims by the DPP that Ms Burke was 'the author of her own misfortune' in not exercising her right to take up bail. 'The applicant was perfectly entitled to refuse to enter into a bail bond and she did so in the knowledge of the consequences, being that she would be remanded in custody pending the hearing,' said Judge Phelan. She did not agree with the DPP that the district court judge was 'meticulously fair', saying: 'There is a world of a difference between being 'meticulously fair' and being 'well-intentioned'.' The judge concluded: 'The circumstances of the original hearing are such that, in the view of this court, the applicant should not face a retrial.' She said she would adopt a Supreme Court ruling in a different case, in which the judges stated that 'the applicant has endured enough'. Judge Phelan ruled there was no precedent for Ms Burke's assertion that she should be entitled to compensatory damages as her constitutional right to a fair trial had been breached. The case will be mentioned again before the court on October 14, for a final order on costs.
Irish Times
05-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Helen McEntee on her Leaving Cert: ‘Let's put it this way - I wasn't aiming for 500 or 600 points'
Helen McEntee sat her Leaving Cert in 2004 at St Joseph's Mercy Secondary School, Navan, Co Meath. What is your most vivid Leaving Cert memory? It was a really sunny day – typical exam weather – and I was studying for my French paper the next day. I say 'studying', but I was lying in the back garden – with my French book over my face. That urge to be out in the sun is so strong in my memory. Who was your most influential teacher and why? READ MORE I really liked all my teachers and got on well with them, but I probably spent most time with Ms Burke – my French teacher. She was very kind and supportive; just a very positive person. Your most difficult subject? Physics. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have chosen it; it wasn't a subject I was particularly good at and it's the subject I did least well in. Your favourite subject? I loved art, music and English. I've always loved drawing, being creative, playing piano and had a really great English teacher. For my music practical, I did a duet with my best friend, Niamh. Can you recall what points you got? I got 400 and something – I'm not 100 per cent sure what. Let's put it this way, I wasn't aiming for 500 or 600 points. I could have worked harder, but I was happy with what I got. How important were the results? Not very – but, because of the results, I ended up in DCU, which I loved. The friends I made shaped my next few years. The degree was a good base for me. What did you do after school? I studied economics, politics and law at DCU and afterward completed a postgrad in journalism and media at Griffith College. What would you change about the Leaving Cert? I would take away some of the pressure at exam time. The fact that I did art and music – which had practicals and coursework – was a great help for me. Having that across the board would take some of the pressure off students. What advice would you give your Leaving Cert self? The same advice I give everyone: just do your best. – In conversation with Carl O'Brien
