Teacher Enoch Burke was released from prison on Wednesday, July 1st, after a High Court ruling that brought an end to his latest period of incarceration. Judge Brian Cregan said Burke was being released because the disciplinary appeal process relating to his dismissal from Wilson’s Hospital School had concluded, along with the fact that the school year was ending, meaning Burke could cause no disruption to students.
Following his release from Castlerea Prison, Burke issued a strongly worded statement in a video published on his X account, accusing the judge of endorsing what he described as a fundamentally flawed disciplinary process.
Burke’s case has been going on since 2022, when he became the focus of attention for refusing to adhere to the school’s transgender policy and not using the ‘correct’ pronouns for one of the students. Burke taking this stance led to suspension, a court injunction barring him from school grounds, repeated trespassing/contempt findings, and multiple periods of imprisonment, totalling nearly 700 days. Burke argued that the Disciplinary Appeal Panel (DAP) could not be regarded as independent because it was chaired by Claire Callanan, whom he described as a senior figure within the Church of Ireland, the school’s patron body. He also highlighted that she is married to Lyndon McCann SC, whom he characterised as a leading legal adviser to the Church of Ireland.
Because Wilson’s Hospital School operates under the auspices of the Church of Ireland, the appointment of Callanan to oversee his appeal represented a serious conflict of interest, Burke said, calling the situation “a scandal” and dismissing the disciplinary process as “a farce.”
According to Burke, Judge Cregan “knows full well” about these connections and was informed of them during court proceedings. Despite this, Burke said the judge accepted the panel’s conclusions, which he described as lacking impartiality.
Burke contrasted the court’s treatment of his case with scenes from last week’s Dublin Pride parade, which he described as involving “depravity,” “perversion,” and “Satanism.” He argued that while such displays were tolerated, he had been portrayed by the court as a danger to children.
