Enoch Burke confronted independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly during a canvass in Limerick city on Saturday.
Ms Connolly had just begun an address to a gathering of Palestinian solidarity activists on Bedford Row when she was interrupted by Mr Burke.
The schoolteacher claims he has been unlawfully dismissed from Wilson’s Hospital school in Co Westmeath. He has been imprisoned and incurred fines of over €225,000 for continuing to turn up at the school in breach of court orders.
He says his constitutional and religious rights have been breached by the school because he objected to using “they/them” with reference to a transgender student and to use their new name.
READ MORE
Flanked by his mother, Martina Burke, he told Ms Connolly: “My life has been turned upside down because my religious beliefs are being taken away from me. I am a victim because of your gender ideology.”
He added, above the noise of the crowd: “In your Ireland, I would be pushed, I would be shut outside the door.
“We need our religious beliefs in this country, we need our religious freedoms.”
Ms Connolly replied “I’ve heard you” a number of times.
The crowd chanted “free Palestine”, and “shame on you”, during the encounter, which lasted around a minute and a half before Mr Burke was led away. Ms Connolly then continued her address to applause.
Later, on social media platform X, Mr Burke urged people not to spoil their vote in next Friday’s presidential election. He told people to vote for Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys in order to prevent Ms Connolly becoming president.
Mr Burke’s younger brother Elijah was earlier this month removed from an event featuring Ms Connolly at the University of Galway after he attempted to question the presidential candidate from the floor about Enoch Burke.
Meanwhile, Ms Humphreys received the public endorsement of her “good friend”, businessman and twice presidential candidate Seán Gallagher, at a canvass at the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre in Dublin on Saturday.
Mr Gallagher called on “my friends in Fianna Fáil and indeed Micheál Martin and the senior Fianna Fáil leadership, to . . . come out and support their former ministerial colleague and coalition partner, who shares the same values and policies".
Mr Gallagher ran for the Áras in both 2011 and 2018. He finished second in his first campaign, having looked as though he would win days out from polling.
“Elections have consequences and none more so than Ireland’s reputation,” he added. “I think it takes decades to build a reputation, but only minutes to destroy one.”
Ms Humphreys said she was “absolutely delighted” to get Mr Gallagher’s endorsement, saying: “He has walked this path and he knows. He understands.”
Earlier this week, an Irish Times-Ipsos B&A poll found that Ms Connolly commands almost double the support of Ms Humphreys.
In Blanchardstown, Ms Humphreys continued to present herself as a “centre, middle ground, common sense” alternative, repeating that the only poll of significance “is the one next Friday”.
On Saturday, afternoon Tánaiste Simon Harris joined his party’s candidate outside Croke Park ahead of Leinster and Munster’s United Rugby Championship clash. Speaking to the Irish Times, he referenced Mr Gallagher’s 2011 campaign as cause for optimism, despite the Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll demonstrating an 18-point lead for Ms Connolly.
“At this stage, when Michael D Higgins was running for president, everybody had written him off,” Mr Harris said. “And everyone had decided the name of the president was going to be someone who never went on to be president. So, this is very much all to play for.
“On one level, Seán Gallagher is a reminder that an election is never over until it’s over. And I know he’d be the first to say that.”
