Enoch Burke, a imprisoned teacher, has set his defamation lawsuit against a 2022 newspaper report to be held in Late April to early May in the High Court. Having spent nearly 300 days behind bars for repeatedly breaching court orders barring him from entering his former workplace, Wilson’s Hospital School in Westmeath from which he got dismissed, Burke alleges his dismissal came as a result of advocating for his religious beliefs regarding transgenderism.
Mr. Burke liaised with the court via video link from his prison cell on Friday, where a date was designated for his defamation lawsuit against Mediahuis Ireland, the body responsible for the Sunday Independent’s publication. During his first prison term, even before he got released, the Sunday Independent publicised his conduct as an inmate, which left him with a €700 daily fine replacing his confinement. His defiance led him back to school and a subsequent second jail term last September for contempt.
Accusing the newspaper story of carrying an “extreme libel”, he insisted that neither has an apology been made, nor any admission of defamation. However, Mediahuis’ Senior counsel, Ronan Lupton, countered his claims stressing his client’s firm denial of defamation labelling the publication as both fair and reasonable. The coverage involved was concise, merely indicating that Burke had to change prison cells in Mountjoy due to his irritating behaviour, explained the counsel.
Burke concurred with the counsel that the case was simple, and he sought an early trial date. Exceptionally, rather than following the typical judge and jury procedure in defamation cases, the case will be heard solitarily by a judge.
The judge gave a nod in agreement to planning the case hearing between April 30th and May 1st and responded positively to an additional request by Burke to request advanced written submissions from both parties to provide some clarity on the case. In anticipation of the hearing date, Burke lamented the absence of an order requiring in-person presentation from prison authorities for the court on Friday.
The judge argued that this was essentially a procedural hearing to fix a date, usually held remotely and physically combined, affirming that an order for production would be provided for the defamation action itself. She observed that it was common practice for folks in incarceration to connect to court sessions remotely, especially for bail hearings, and assured that it doesn’t disadvantage the individual in custody.
Mr Burke conversed with the judge, detailing that his court appearances were due to her being the first one to give an injunction that had nothing to do with his religious beliefs. He alleged that the judge had made false statements about his stance and his faith. The magistrate pointed out to Mr Burke that prior orders given by her had been superseded by subsequent decisions by other judges.
Despite the judge considering those past incidents as ‘old news’, for Mr Burke, it was still significant. “I have to appear in court today due to your previous order,” indicated Mr Burke. Following this, the two agreed on a date for the hearing.
As proceedings concluded, Mr Burke’s sister, Ammi, expressed her unease about the judge referring to past issues as ‘ancient history’ and accused Ms Justice Stack of granting her injunction based on a lie. After being asked to refrain from speaking as she didn’t possess the right to speak in the court, Ms Burke insisted that the judge retract her comment about it being ‘ancient history’.
The judge warned Ms Burke that if she didn’t cease, she would have to be removed from the court. In spite of this, Ms Burke kept on addressing the court until she was warned again about the need for court adjournment. She ended her speech by telling the judge to be ashamed as the matter at hand was all about his religious beliefs, before exiting the room.
In other news, the Court of Appeal was updated on the progress of Ms Burke’s appeal against the High Court’s dismissal of her case against the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The appeal is set to proceed as planned on April 22nd.
Ms Burke, a practising solicitor whose case was dismissed due to her apparent misuse of the court process, is hoping to overturn the WRC’s rejection of her unfair dismissal claim. Repeated disruptions from the Burke family were part and parcel of these court proceedings. Arthur Cox refuted her allegations about her unfair dismissal back in November 2019.
For more updates on the matter, tune in to our Inside Politics Podcast.
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