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Jailed teacher Enoch Burke has formally lodged an appeal against a High Court injunction preventing him from attending or teaching at the school where he is employed.
Mr Burke, who objects to addressing a student with the pronoun “they” and opposes transgenderism, was committed to prison last month until he agrees to obey the order not to attend or attempt to teach any classes at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.
The school obtained an order committing Mr Burke to prison over his failure to comply with the injunction. He had been suspended pending the hearing of a disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against him.
Arising out of his refusal to purge his contempt, he has been in Mountjoy Prison since early September.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Burke, accompanied by members of the Irish Prison Services and assisted by his brother, Isaac Burke, formally lodged his appeal against the injunction at the Office of the Court of Appeal (CoA).
The High Court had on Monday granted him an order allowing him to attend the Four Courts complex in person.
In his appeal, Mr Burke asks the CoA to set aside orders, including the grant of the temporary ex-parte injunction against him, and the subsequent decision to keep the injunction in place pending the final hearing of the matter.
He has also appealed against the High Court’s dismissal of applications brought by him aimed at setting aside his suspension from the school.
Mr Burke has not appealed the High Court orders committing him to prison for contempt.
His appeal is due to be mentioned before the CoA later this month. It is understood the appeal is unlikely to be heard before Christmas.
After the appeal was lodged, Mr Burke was transported back to Mountjoy Prison.
Speaking to the media afterward, Isaac Burke confirmed his brother has “no intention” of purging his contempt, a move that would secure his release from prison.
Enoch Burke, a History and German teacher, was suspended on full pay late last August pending an investigation into alleged misconduct, which he denies.
Arising out of his refusal to stay away from the school, its board of management obtained a High Court injunction against him.
His refusal to comply with that order resulted in his incarceration.
Mr Burke claims the case is based around his opposition to a direction by his employer to address a student at the school, who wishes to transition, by the pronoun ‘they’ and by a different name. He says doing so is contrary to his Christian beliefs.
He says the suspension is unlawful, unfair, unreasonable and in breach of his constitutional rights to religion and freedom of expression and conscience.
Lawyers for the school have argued the matters it reluctantly put before the court are not about the teacher’s opposition to transgenderism, but about his refusal to obey a court order.
The school, located in Multyfarnham, is the Church of Ireland’s Diocesan School for Meath and Kildare. It claims his refusal to comply with the injunction was disruptive to the school’s students at the beginning of the new academic year.
Mr Burke, who rejects that argument, has brought his own proceedings against the school where he seeks various orders, including a declaration that the disciplinary process against him is unlawful and a breach of his constitutional rights.
He also seeks various orders preventing the school from continuing both his paid administrative leave and the disciplinary process against him.
Mr Burke was placed on paid leave pending the outcome of a disciplinary process commenced by the school, where he has been employed for several years.
It is alleged that process commenced after Mr Burke publicly voiced his alleged opposition to the school principal’s direction to address a student by a different name and pronoun.
It is claimed that Mr Burke interrupted an anniversary service in June that was attended by clergy, staff, parents, board members and past and present pupils. He is alleged to have said the school’s then principal, Niamh McShane, should withdraw the earlier demand regarding the student.
It is also claimed that he said he could not agree with transgenderism as it went against the school’s ethos and the teaching of the Church of Ireland.
The school claims that students and members of the congregation walked out of the school chapel where the service was being conducted after he spoke.
He is alleged to have approached the principal after the meal and again asked her to withdraw the request regarding the student.
In a sworn statement to the court, Mr Burke said he rejects the claim made by the former school principal Niamh McShane that he questioned her loudly at the function.
Mr Burke said that the former principal’s allegations against him are “entirely false”.