Jailed teacher Enoch Burke wants the High Court to pause the full hearing of an action brought against him by his employer until his appeal of an injunction against him has been determined.
On Monday, Mr Justice Brian O’Moore refused an application made on Mr Burke’s behalf which sought to permit him to attend court to seek the stay on the main proceedings against him, which were brought by Wilson’s Hospital School where he taught history and German. The matter was adjourned to a later date.
Mr Burke is incarcerated at Mountjoy Prison over his refusal to comply with a High Court injunction to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital in Co Westmeath. He claims the row centres on his objection to transgender identity.
The school brought proceedings against Mr Burke over his alleged failure to comply with the terms of his suspension on full pay from the school.
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Mr Burke has appealed to the Court of Appeal various High Court decisions, including the granting of the injunction, which is to remain in place until the High Court has decided the school’s wider proceedings.
Mr Burke’s appeal has been fixed for February of next year.
While no date has been fixed for the hearing of the full High Court dispute between the school and Mr Burke, Mr Justice O’Moore previously expressed a view that the matter should be heard either before Christmas or early in the New Year.
To facilitate an early hearing, the judge put a timetable in place for the exchange of legal documents between the school and Mr Burke.
The matter was briefly mentioned before the High Court on Monday when the judge was informed by Mr Burke’s sister, Ammi Burke, making submissions via an online video link, that her brother does not want the wider case heard until after the appeal court has determined his appeal.
The court heard that Mr Burke says that his case will be prejudiced if the High Court proceeds to hear the full dispute before his appeal has been determined.
Ms Burke added that the school had been made aware that her brother intends to seek a stay on the High Court proceedings until his appeal is ruled upon.
Given the urgency of the matter, Ms Burke sought an order allowing her brother to come before the court from Mountjoy Prison so he could make his case for pausing the operation of the judge’s directions for the exchange of documents.
Mr Justice O’Moore refused to make an order allowing Mr Burke to attend the court on Monday afternoon. He said the matter could be heard on November 7th.
His grounds of refusal include that the school is entitled to sufficient notice of the application for a stay.
A few hours’ notice was far too short, the judge said.
He also cited pressure on the chancery court’s list as another reason for refusing to hear application for a production order until November 7th. Mr Burke could make his application for a stay in the normal manner, the judge went on.
If Mr Burke was unsuccessful in his application for a stay, Mr Justice O’Moore would be sympathetic to pushing back the dates set in the timetable for the exchange of documentation, he said.
Mr Burke, who objected to addressing a student with the pronoun “they”, was committed to prison last month until he agrees to obey the order not to attend work.
The school obtained an order committing Mr Burke to prison. He had been suspended pending the hearing of a disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against him over his failure to comply with the injunction.
The school, located in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath, is the Church of Ireland’s diocesan school for Meath and Kildare. It claims his refusal to comply with the injunction was disruptive to students.
Mr Burke has brought his own proceedings against the school where he seeks various orders and declarations including a declaration that the disciplinary process against him is unlawful and a breach of his constitutional rights, including his rights to freedom of expression, conscience and religion.
He also seeks various orders preventing the school from continuing both his paid administrative leave and the disciplinary process against him and an order preventing the school from dismissing him from his position.