A High Court judge has again sent teacher Enoch Burke back to Mountjoy Prison, where he has already spent over 300 days over his failure to comply with an order to stay away from Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath.
During what was at times a heated hearing on Friday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey had offered to temporarily release Mr Burke from prison, in the hope that the teacher would use the time the school was on holiday to reflect on his position.
However, Mr. Burke refused to address the court's proposal and instead accused the judge of not doing his duty by ruling on what he claimed was an alleged lie told to the court by a solicitor acting for the school in a sworn statement.
Mr Burke, supported by members of his family, demanded that the court deal with the alleged lie over security arrangements that were made in the school, which had been reported this week by the Irish Independent newspaper.
Alex White SC, for the school, said the security was put in place about a matter unrelated to Mr Burke and was over a dispute with a contactor.
When Mr. Justice Sanfey dismissed the teacher's submissions on that point, Mr. Burke repeatedly demanded that the court "do its duty" and "deal with the lies".
Mr Justice Sanfey ruled that Mr Burke was not addressing the offer to be released from prison and had made "insults" against the court and other parties, and was continually talking across and interrupting the judge.
When Mr Burke refused to cease, the judge directed that he be removed from the court.
Scuffle
When prison officers were in the process of removing the teacher from the courtroom, a scuffle ensued.
Mr Burke's brother, Dr Isaac Burke, was also physically removed from the courtroom by gardaí.
Following Mr Burke's removal, Mr Justice Sanfey said he had "no option" other than send Mr Burke back to prison, and said the teacher was "behaving in a way" to keep himself in prison.
Mr Burke was brought before the court on Friday morning when his ongoing refusal to comply with an injunction made last year was reviewed by the judge.
The judge had previously described the teacher's continued imprisonment as "a profoundly unsatisfactory situation".
When the matter was before the court in late February, the judge, who stressed that court orders must be obeyed, asked the school's lawyers to make submissions on possible alternatives to Mr Burke's incarceration, including the sequestration of the teacher's assets.
The court also noted that during his time behind bars, Mr Burke continued to be paid his salary pending his appeal against the school's decision to dismiss him.
The court also said Mr. Burke was being imprisoned at a cost to the taxpayer, had not paid any of the fines imposed on him by the court last year, and had not paid any of the costs orders made against him by the courts in favour of the school.
Throughout the process, Mr Burke, who has spent almost a year behind bars, has claimed that he has been imprisoned because he was being punished for his religious belief.
Mr Burke was committed to Mountjoy Prison after the school's board asked the court to jail the teacher over his deliberate failure to comply with a permanent injunction restraining him from attending the school, which was granted by the court in July.
'Severe disruption'
The board claimed that Mr Burke had attended the school's campus every day when the current school year commenced last August.
His presence at the school had caused "severe disruption for staff and students", the board claimed.
In September, the court found that Mr Burke had "flagrantly breached" the July orders and committed him to prison "indefinitely" until he purges his contempt.
Last December, when his contempt was last up for review, Mr Burke also declined to purge his contempt and agreed to comply with an order to stay away from the school.
When the matter was reviewed last month, Mr Burke again refused to purge his contempt and was returned to Mountjoy.
During his first stint behind bars, the Evangelical Christian spent over 100 days in Mountjoy between September and December 2022.
Following his suspension from his position at the school in August 2022, Mr. Burke was sued by the school over his failure to comply with a court order requiring him to stay away from the school. He was released in December 2022 without purging his contempt.
He again started attending the school campus after the holidays, and the High Court imposed a daily fine of €700 on Mr Burke.
The teacher denies the claims against him and says his constitutional rights were breached by the school's direction that he refers to a student by a different gender.
High Court reporters
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