Mother and sister of Enoch Burke ordered to be jailed for contempt of court

A High Court judge has ordered the mother and sister of teacher Enoch Burke to be jailed for two weeks after finding them in contempt of court.

Ammi and Martina Burke were not at the hearing when Mr Justice Brian Cregan delivered his judgment.

Enoch’s brother, Isaac, said his mother and sister were at their “place of employment” and Mr Cregan ordered gardai to arrest them immediately.

The Burke family has appeared in court multiple times in recent years during the dispute between Enoch Burke and the board of management of Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath, where he was a teacher.

The contempt of court charge was in relation to a hearing on February 20 during which both women were removed from court by eight to 10 gardai.

Mr Cregan said the hearing “descended into chaos” when they interrupted proceedings.

He said: “They both knew full well that they had no right of audience and no right to speak, yet they persisted in standing up in court and shouting and roaring at the top of their voices.”

Both women were given the opportunity to defend their actions during a hearing on February 25.

Martina Burke spoke for around 20 minutes and described her son as an “upright, genuine, sincere, godly teacher” and claimed he had been “denied his constitutional rights”.

Mr Cregan said: “It is clear that Mrs Burke believes that she has a right to shout at any judge at any time on whatever issue she wants, irrespective of whether it disrupts court proceedings or not.”

In her defence, Ammi Burke said she “won’t sit silently by while my brother’s constitutional rights are being denied”.

But Mr Cregan said: “Nothing she said could amount to a justification of defence or explanation for her behaviour”.

He described some of her submissions as “manifestly absurd”, describing one in particular as being “so wrong-headed it beggars belief”.

Delivering his judgment, Mr Cregan said it was “long past time for the court to call a halt to this family circus”.

The judge said “it is clear” the Burke family “believe that they are above the law and the law does not apply to them”.

Addressing Ammi and Martina Burke he said they, like Mr Burke, “are not exceptional”.

“They are just exceptionally unable to accept what every other citizen in this republic accepts every day, ie that the law applies to them and that they are subjected to the rule of law.

“We live in a democracy governed by the rule of law and not a theocracy governed by the Burke family.”

Mr Cregan said court “is a stressful environment for all litigants at the best of times”, with issues of “enormous importance” at stake for others in court, such as the loss of a family home.

He said the “constant interruptions” by certain members of the Burke family make “a stressful environment a toxic environment”.

He said the courts “cannot continue in absolute certainty” that members of the family will “continue to interrupt the proceedings on every occasion when the matter is before the court”.

He said for every hearing “at least 10 guards” have to be present, describing the situation as “completely abnormal” and adding: “I cannot think of any other case in the last 30 years where this has happened.”

He also said, as a solicitor, Ammi Burke had “lost sight” of her professional and ethical duties to the court “some time ago”, and he would send papers to the Law Society’s disciplinary committee to consider if it should open an investigation into her conduct.

Mr Cregan also said the two women and Isaac Burke should be banned from attending future court hearings relating to Enoch Burke in person. They may only attend remotely.

In 2022, Enoch Burke was asked by the Co Westmeath school’s then-principal to address a student by a new name and pronoun.

The Burke family has repeatedly argued that the direction was unconstitutional and went against Mr Burke’s right to express his religious beliefs.

He has been imprisoned for more than 600 days over contempt of court relating to breaches of orders not to trespass at the school.

Mr Cregan said Mrs Burke could “repeatedly” be heard in court shouting “free Enoch Burke”, but the judge said “Mr Enoch Burke can free himself”.

“As this court has said repeatedly, he has the keys to his own prison.”

The judge said: “Mrs Burke complained bitterly that her son has been imprisoned for over 600 days.

“That should be a badge of shame for him.

“If Mrs Burke really wants to free Enoch Burke she could do so herself.

“I have no doubt that she could persuade her son to change the disastrous course of action that he has embarked on.”