Courts

Enoch Burke’s father Sean jailed for courtroom assault on garda

Ammi Burke is cleared of obstructing another garda in March incident at Court of Appeal

Sean Burke has been jailed for attacking a garda. Photograph: Collins Courts
Sean Burke has been jailed for attacking a garda. Photograph: Collins Courts
Tom Tuite
Tue Dec 17 2024 - 12:54

The father of jailed teacher Enoch Burke has been imprisoned for two months for attacking a female garda in the Court of Appeal after rejecting the possibility of a suspended sentence.

However, his daughter Ammi was cleared of obstructing another male garda during the same incident.

Sean Burke, who is in his 60s, denied assaulting Bridewell Gda Victoria Fisher in the Four Courts on March 7th, 2023, when his wife Martina was escorted from a hearing for shouting at judges.

Gda Fisher was grabbed, knocked down and hit a radiator, resulting in bruising.

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Even though he had been spared a criminal record, Burke unsuccessfully attempted to quash the guilty verdict delivered in May in the District Court, which gave him the Probation of Offenders Act.

Following a three-day District Court Appeals hearing, Judge Ronan Munro convicted him.

He referred to the uncontested evidence that Burke shouted at gardaí to leave his wife alone, and he did not accept that knocking the garda down was accidental.

Judge Munro concluded that there was an intentional application of force by Sean Burke. The offence carries a maximum six-month sentence and €1,500 fine.

The judge imposed a two-month sentence. Noting Burke’s lack of prior convictions, he said he would suspend it on condition the accused keep the peace and be of good behaviour for one year.

Sean Burke, who said he felt demeaned during the hearing, refused to sign the peace bond, at which point the judge ordered that he would serve the sentence.

Sean Burke, who had represented himself and did not accept the verdict, shook hands with and hugged his son, Dr Isaac Burke, before being led into custody.

In his ruling, Judge Munro rejected arguments that the gardaí dealing with the courtroom “chaos” had no legal authority to remove them.

The officers had a duty to restore order following several interruptions by members of the Burke family of the Court of Appeal judges, who rose twice after shouts that they were “bowing before the altar of transgenderism”.

“Members of the public, including visiting schoolchildren, were forced to witness those scenes in a court of law, which I regard as offensive scenes,” said the judge.

Ammi Burke (33) won her appeal in the court.

A qualified solicitor, she had earlier been fined €400 and convicted of obstructing a garda by putting her hand on him for a few seconds as he helped arrest her brother Simeon Burke (25), who was brought “flailing” from the Court of Appeal courtroom.

Judge Munro said he had a reasonable doubt that she had directly obstructed the arrest of her brother given the fast-moving situation.

After being cleared, Ammi Burke had to be escorted from the remainder of the proceedings because she interrupted Judge Munro as he went on to deliver his decision in her father’s case.

The arrests happened when Enoch Burke was involved in a legal dispute before the Court of Appeal over transgenderism and his sacking by Wilson’s Hospital School in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath.

Members of the Burke family outside a recent court appearance. Photograph: Collins Courts
Members of the Burke family outside a recent court appearance. Photograph: Collins Courts

Judge Munro heard that the Court of Appeal had delivered a ruling telling Enoch Burke that the action taken by the school against him was not about transgenderism.

He noted from the audio recording of the hearing that the court rose twice, and the three Court of Appeal judges left the bench following interruptions or shouting from the Burkes of Cloonsunna, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

Mr Justice George Birmingham had warned them to be quiet, or they would be removed. He returned and said if there were further disruptions, the judgment would be delivered electronically instead.

Judge Munro noted that Mr Justice Birmingham warned them eight to 10 times, and when the judges left the second time, the Burkes stayed in the court.

Gardaí removed Ammi Burke to calm her down, and then Simeon, who was holding on to benches, before bringing their mother, Martina Burke, out. A bench was knocked over.

Sean and Ammi Burke argued that they should not have been charged because there was no order or legal power to remove them from the court, which the prosecution disputed.

In evidence, Sean Burke said he had respect for gardaí and the courts, but he was shocked at a remark made by the Court of Appeal judge that Enoch had been talking in “soundbites” or that the proceedings were not about transgenderism.

He said his family “raised an objection, we spoke and objected to this”, adding that he had affirmed the objection.

Mr Burke asserted that it was not a normal situation and “the country knows, the world knows it is about transgenderism”.

He said he was concerned when his wife was removed from the courtroom and went after her, but it was in a narrow, congested aisle and he did not see Gda Fisher due to the height disparity between them.