Enoch Burke faces the prospect of being jailed again after Wilson’s Hospital School lodged a fresh High Court application over his alleged trespassing at the Co Westmeath school.
Burke was formally dismissed from his position at the school in May for gross misconduct. He maintains that he was not validly dismissed, and continues to seek his reinstatement through the courts.
Lawyers for the school told Judge Brian Cregan on Tuesday that Burke had trespassed on various occasions since the beginning of the academic year, in breach of a court order.
Rosemary Mallon, counsel for the school’s board, said the school had done “all in its power” not to return to the courts, contacting gardaí and employing security personnel at the school premises.
Mallon said Burke had for some time confined his protest over his dismissal to outside the school gates.
However, since late last month, it appeared Burke had “changed his mind”, and continued to trespass on the school premises, counsel said.
She said the school had been placed in an “invidious” position, as it had been since the start of the long-running dispute.
The judge granted the school permission to serve Burke with its application for his attachment and committal to prison over his contempt of the court order. The case will return later this week.
Burke was not represented at the hearing.
Wilson’s Hospital School suspended and later dismissed Burke over his conduct towards its then-principal at a school religious event in June 2022.
The confrontation arose in circumstances where Niamh McShane had earlier directed teachers to address a student by a new name and with the pronouns “they” and “them”.
Burke, an evangelical Christian, has maintained this request went against his religious beliefs.
When Burke continued to trespass at the school following his suspension, the school sought court orders banning him from the premises. Burke has continuously breached the order banning him from the school.
He has spent more than 700 days in prison in separate spells, arising from his contempt of the court order.
Cregan ordered Burke’s release from prison in July, despite his refusal to give a court undertaking not to trespass at the school.