Courts

Enoch Burke claims teachers are being told to ‘bow down’ over pronouns

Jailed teacher’s submissions against High Court rejection of his challenge to inclusion of ASTI general secretary on disciplinary appeals panel heard at Court of Appeal

Enoch Burke pictured leaving the Court of Appeal in Dublin on Thursday. Photograph: Collins
Enoch Burke pictured leaving the Court of Appeal in Dublin on Thursday. Photograph: Collins
Thu Dec 12 2024 - 18:29

Jailed teacher Enoch Burke has claimed in the Court of Appeal (CoA) that teachers around the country are being “told to bow down” to instructions to only use “they” rather than “he/she” when referring to transgender students.

“Teachers are afraid of stating their true beliefs and are whispering their objections,” he said.

He was making submissions as part of his appeal against the High Court’s rejection of his challenge to the composition of a disciplinary appeals panel set up to consider his dismissal from his teaching post in Wilson’s Hospital School, Westmeath.

The panel, represented by Padraic Lyons SC, opposed Mr Burke’s application for an order excluding Kieran Christie, general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), from the panel.

READ MORE

The day-long Court of Appeal hearing passed off without incident, and Mr Burke, who is well into his second year in prison over his refusal to obey orders to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital, once again represented himself, while members of his family were present.

The appeal court reserved its decision.

Mr Burke claims he is in jail because of his opposition to the “ideology of transgenderism” and because he is standing up for his Christian beliefs and constitutional right to freedom of expression.

The High Court last December dismissed his claim that there were grounds for saying a reasonable observer would have a reasonable apprehension of objective bias on the part of Mr Christie when dealing with the disciplinary matter because of comments and actions made by the ASTI in relation to transgenderism.

The High Court found there was “not even a starting point” to Mr Burke’s claim that Mr Christie has been a “promoter of transgenderism” since 2016.

It further rejected his claim of bias because of comments by ASTI deputy general secretary, Diarmuid De Paor, in a newspaper interview that students should be generally referred to by their preferred pronoun. These were comments representing no more than the general position of the ASTI, the court found.

Mr Burke appealed the decision and the disciplinary appeal panel opposed his appeal.

Martina Burke, the mother of Enoch Burke, leaving the Court of Appeal in Dublin on Thursday, accompanied by his sister Ammi and brother Isaac. Photograph: Collins
Martina Burke, the mother of Enoch Burke, leaving the Court of Appeal in Dublin on Thursday, accompanied by his sister Ammi and brother Isaac. Photograph: Collins

In his arguments to the appeal court on Thursday, Mr Burke said it was his case that it was not appropriate for Mr Christie to sit on the panel because of the ASTI’s support for transgenderism.

This support included Mr De Paor’s newspaper interview, which was a deliberate intervention in the public debate on transgenderism, a week and a half after he was suspended from his teaching job, he said. It also came from ASTI’s active association with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) group, he said.

It further came from the ASTI’s membership of the “radical” Children’s Rights Alliance which Mr Burke said in 2018 made a “very disturbing recommendation” that legislation should be introduced allowing children over 16 to change their gender without their parents’ consent.

The Alliance also recommended that under-16s should be allowed to apply for recognition of their preferred gender, he said.

He argued the High Court came to an erroneous conclusion in saying the perception of bias could not be reasonably linked to the statements of ASTI.

Mr Burke also told the court that as a result of instructions on how to address transgender students, teachers are “afraid to exercise their right to expression” and are in fear of doing so.

The panel strongly denied his claims of bias.

Mr Lyons, for the panel, said the ASTI has not taken a position on what demand is to be made of a particular teacher or where there is conscientious objection. The short statement of Mr De Paor in the newspaper was simply a statement of general advice and there could be no connection between that and any decision of the panel, he said.

Counsel said Mr Burke claimed instruction from the Wilson’s Hospital principal to teachers on how to address a transgender pupil was invalid having regard to religious and constitutional protections.

These, counsel said, were nuanced and complex points which he is entitled to make before the panel. The panel then is required to carefully balance his rights and those of others in any decision.

Mr Burke’s claims of bias based on one newspaper article and the ASTI’s membership of a non-governmental organisation (Children’s Rights Alliance) fell very short of the requirements to prove bias. His appeal should be rejected, he said.

Asked by Ms Justice Nuala Butler if he would object to another member of ASTI on the panel instead of Mr Christie, Mr Burke said he had made his submissions as they stand in relation to Mr Christie “and there I rest my case”.