Teacher jailed in Ireland for refusing to use gender-neutral pronoun for transgender pupil

A teacher who refused to use gender-neutral pronouns for a transgender student has been jailed for contempt of court.

Enoch Burke was arrested yesterday morning, September 5, for breaching a court order not to teach at his Westmeath school, or be physically present there.

The dispute began over his refusal to address a transitioning student as “they” rather than “he”, as requested by the student and his parents in May, and agreed to by the Church of Ireland school.

Mr Burke had earlier been informed by the family of the pupil that the student wanted to transition from a boy to a girl and should therefore be addressed by a different name. On May 9th, the school principal sent a direction to staff asking them to use the pupil’s preferred name and the pronoun “they”.

Burke communicated in writing to the school that the directive conflicted with his Christian belief and the church’s ethos. He declined to comply with the directive.

The board of management (BOM) met to consider the position adopted by Mr Burke, commissioned a report and arranged a disciplinary meeting under stage 4 of its disciplinary procedures for September 14th.

Mr Burke was notified the report contained serious allegations and on August 22nd it was decided to place him on paid administrative leave pending the disciplinary meeting. Mr Burke was informed it was a temporary decision and not a disciplinary sanction of any kind.

His continued attendance at the school led to the interim order of August 30th restraining him from attending there. He continued to attend and said he intends to continue to do so.

That led to the BOM seeking his attachment and committal for contempt of the order and him being brought by gardaí from the school to court on Monday to answer the contempt claim.

Judge Michael Quinn ordered that Enoch Burke be committed to Mountjoy Prison until he agrees to obey an order not to attend or attempt to teach any classes at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath.

The school had suspended him from his position as a teacher of History and German.

The order was granted after the school’s lawyers told the court that Mr Burke was not complying with both the terms of his paid suspension and an ex-parte temporary injunction requiring him to stay away from the school.

The judge said that Mr Burke must remain incarcerated until he purges his contempt and agrees to comply with the injunction secured by the school last week.

After Judge Michael Quinn made his ruling, Mr Burke said: “It is insanity that I will be led from this courtroom to a place of incarceration, but I will not give up my Christian beliefs.”

The judge made the order after Mr Burke told the court that he could not comply with the order, and that he intended to return to the school.

Mr Burke said that his suspension arose over his objection to the school’s direction to staff last May to call “a boy,” as being “a girl” at the school.

Burke said that such a direction was “contrary to scripture” and was against the “ethos of my school and the Church of Ireland”, and something he could never agree to as he does not agree with transgenderism.

He said that agreeing to comply with the court order amounted to a breach of his own morals, ethos and religious views.

He said he “didn’t want to go to prison” and respected the law. However, complying with the orders would be “a contempt” of his own deeply held Christian beliefs which, he added, are “very dear to me”.

Mr Burke was arrested on Monday morning, September 5, at the school by the Gardai (police) before being conveyed to the Four Courts in Dublin.

The school, located in Multyfarnham Co Westmeath, is the Church of Ireland’s Diocesan School for Meath and Kildare.