Dismissed teacher stands outside school for a second day
Enoch Burke has contended that he has a right to work, and has rejected his dismissal from Wilson Hospital School.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An Irish teacher who was dismissed amid a row over transgender pronouns returned to his former place of work on Wednesday, a day after being arrested for trespassing at the school.
Enoch Burke, who was previously jailed after failing to observe a court injunction banning him from attending Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath while he was suspended from work, was informed last Friday of his dismissal from his position as teacher.
Despite his dismissal, he turned up to the school for two successive days, and staff at the school have refused him entry on both days.
On Tuesday, Gardai arrested Mr Burke at the school and drove him to a Garda station. After he was released, he was seen returning to the school’s grounds before leaving in the afternoon.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Burke’s father dropped him off at the school. He then approached the door of the school and was prevented from entering the building.
Mr Burke was seen standing in the rain on school grounds and writing in a notebook intermittently while standing outside the building.
He was then driven away from the school grounds by his father just after 1pm.
The evangelical Christian was suspended from work on full pay last year pending the outcome of a disciplinary process, after a number of incidents stemming from a request from the secondary school’s principal.
Mr Burke voiced on several occasions his opposition to the principal’s request to address a transgender child by their name and refer to them by the pronoun, “they”.
Subsequent events led to his suspension from his job at Wilson’s Hospital School.
A formal disciplinary hearing was held last week; a family member of Mr Burke issued a statement on his behalf on Friday, saying he had been dismissed.
Mr Burke has rejected his dismissal, asserting that he has a right to work and that he had been “wrongfully” arrested for trespass on Tuesday.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.