DUBLIN – The High Court has ordered secondary school teacher Enoch Burke to pay fines totaling €225,000 for his repeated breaches of a court order directing him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School. The daily fine for his continued non-compliance has also been increased to €2,000.
Mr Justice David Nolan issued the order following an application by the school, which sought to have Mr Burke arrested and jailed again. The teacher has consistently shown up at the school since it reopened after the summer holidays, marking the fourth consecutive year he has attended despite being suspended and dismissed.
Mr Burke has already spent more than 500 days in prison for contempt of court since the case began in 2022. However, the judge stated that he would not send Mr Burke back to jail, arguing that it would only provide more publicity for his “deluded” sense of justice and make him a “martyr” in the eyes of his supporters.
Instead, the judge said it was “behoven” upon the school to take civil steps to secure its property against a trespasser, suggesting they consider hiring a private security firm. The school’s representative, Rosemary Mallon, said this option was considered but was deemed financially problematic and inappropriate for a school environment.
Mr Burke, who was not in court, is appealing his dismissal. The appeal has been delayed after he successfully challenged the inclusion of ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie on the disciplinary panel, citing a reasonable apprehension of bias. The school is currently awaiting a nomination for a new panel member.
The judge also dismissed Mr Burke’s argument that the Court of Appeal’s decision regarding the disciplinary panel affected the existing injunctions. He said the courts had already made their displeasure known through financial penalties and the appointment of a receiver to collect the outstanding fines, which now total €225,000.
During the hearing, the judge threatened to hold Mr Burke’s brother, Isaac Burke, in contempt of court after he objected to the judge’s reference to his brother’s “perverted sense of justice.”
The court was told that Mr Burke, who does not have a key, has been entering the school by following other teachers inside. The judge acknowledged the school’s concerns about potential physical confrontation but emphasized that the remedies for the school lay in civil laws relating to trespassing.
