by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
DUBLIN (Worthy News) – An Irish Christian teacher has been jailed again for appearing at a central Ireland school despite being dismissed over “misgendering” a transgender student.
Enoch Burke, citing his Christian faith, refused to use a transgender student’s preferred name and pronouns and publicly explained his beliefs. That stance prompted disciplinary action by Wilson’s Hospital School, a private Church of Ireland secondary boarding school in Multyfarnham, a village in County Westmeath, west of Dublin.
Since the 2022 transgender-related dispute, Burke has spent more than 560 days behind bars — much of it in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin — after being detained on multiple occasions for contempt of court and breaching an order barring him from returning to his former workplace.
In video footage obtained by Worthy News, Burke showed his January 19 arrest by Irish police at the school gates.
While being led to an awaiting police vehicle, the teacher said he was effectively imprisoned “for refusing to affirm transgender ideology.”
COURT: ‘JAILING FOR CONTEMPT, NOT BELIEF’
However, the court has denied that Burke’s Christian faith or his views on transgender issues were the reason for his detention. Judges said he violated a court injunction preventing him from trespassing on the school’s premises.
Burke continued to turn up at the school and was initially jailed in September 2022 for ignoring the court order.
He has been in and out of prison ever since, with the teacher jailed for a fourth time in November 2025.
He was released on January 14 “to allow him time to prepare for another hearing,” said the Courts Service of Ireland, before a disciplinary appeals panel reviewing his dismissal.
Yet Burke was sent back to prison by the High Court for a fifth time on January 19 “for breaching the court order” by appearing at the school on January 15 and January 16, the Courts Service added.
TEACHER’S SUPPORTERS SEE IDEOLOGY AT WORK
Burke and his supporters maintain the case reflects transgender ideology being forced upon schools and society, despite Ireland’s Christian heritage.
However, “I want to reiterate that Mr. Burke has been imprisoned for contempt of court — not for his religious beliefs,” said the latest judgment, attributed to Justice Brian Cregan.
“As I have always said, Mr. Burke is free to proclaim his objections to transgenderism from the rooftops,” the judge added, stressing the issue remained compliance with the court order.
Burke said the courts had “utterly failed” to uphold his constitutional rights, and further legal battles are expected.
MOUNTJOY PRISON HOLDS HIGH-PROFILE INMATES
Mountjoy Prison, where Burke has spent much of his detention, is one of Ireland’s main closed, high-security prisons in Dublin and has long housed some of the country’s most prominent criminal and political prisoners.
The arrest also comes after a related dispute in nearby Britain, where a British nurse who faced possible dismissal for using male pronouns in reference to a transgender prisoner claiming to be a woman was reinstated earlier this month following a legal battle.
Jennifer Melle, 40, received a written warning after an incident in May 2024 at St Helier Hospital, part of the National Health Service (NHS) in south London near Surrey, a county on the capital’s southern outskirts.
Several sources said the dispute involved a transgender inmate convicted of sexually abusing children, who became upset after Melle referred to the patient as “Mr.” during a clinical conversation about catheter use.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
In a setback to those hoping for regime change in the Islamic Republic, U.S. President Donald J. Trump signaled Friday that he may begin “winding down” military operations against Iran, saying Washington is close to achieving its objectives.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Hungary in a last-minute show of support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who faces his toughest election since returning to power in 2010, officials familiar with the planning confirmed.
Anti-immigration and local parties made gains in municipal elections in the Netherlands, where concerns over rising migration from mainly Islamic countries, the financial impact of climate policies, and increased defense spending have dominated national and local debates.
Israel signaled Thursday it would refrain from further attacks on energy infrastructure after a strike on Iran’s vast South Pars natural gas field triggered retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, sending oil and natural gas prices sharply higher and raising fears of a wider regional escalation.
European Union leaders condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s decision on Thursday to block a 90 billion euro ($98 billion) loan for Ukraine, linking his stance to a dispute with Kyiv over Russian oil supplies.
Families and friends of scores of Christians held in Iranian prisons have requested prayers as “concerns for their well-being grow and communication has all but ceased” amid ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, Christians told Worthy News Thursday.
As a marathon debate over the SAVE America Act continues in the U.S. Senate, Republicans and Democrats are sparring over whether the voter ID bill would strengthen election security or discourage potential voters.