Cal Gaunt
CORRECTION: This article was initially published with the headline: “Teacher Jailed For Refusing To Use Student’s Gender-Neutral Pronouns”, which was misleading as he was jailed for breaking a court order barring him from the school he taught at.
The suspended teacher, Enoch Burke, was not jailed for refusing to address a student by their preferred pronouns.
Instead, it was because he did not obey a High Court order not to enter the school he taught at.
The school where he worked had sought an injunction against him attending while an unresolved disciplinary process over his behaviour was ongoing.
Therefore, we erased the misleading information and corrected the content of the article, so the new, updated version contains accurate information only.
Source: TheJournal.ie
A suspended teacher has been jailed after breaking a court order barring him from the school he taught at.
According to MailOnline, Enoch Burke was arrested for breaching a court order which prohibited him from teaching at a Westmeath school or being physically present.
Burke’s refusal to use a student’s pronouns has nothing to do with his imprisonment by order of the High Court.
Watch as Enoch Burke discusses Christian students being banned from joining societies on campus below…
Wilson’s Hospital School’s counsel for its board of management said that Burke’s imprisonment came with a ‘heavy heart’ – but that her client had been left with no choice as he had continued to attend the school despite the court order which had been obtained last week.
The issues arose after Burke refused to address a transitioning student by their preferred pronouns ‘they’, rather than ‘he’, as had been requested by the student and their parents and agreed to by the Church of Ireland school.
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That saw him suspended by the school the day prior to the autumn term pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.
MailOnline reported that Burke refused to stay away from the school while on paid leave and would sit in an empty classroom while insisting he was there to work, the court heard.
Mr Burke told the judge: “I am a teacher and I don’t want to go to prison. I want to be in my classroom today.”
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He continued: “Transgenderism is against my Christian belief. It is contrary to the scriptures, contrary to the ethos of the Church of Ireland and of my school.”
Various misleading reports and posts on social media suggested that Burke was jailed for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns.
Multiple international outlets covered the story with headlines that didn’t mention Burke’s alleged behaviour, his suspension, or the disciplinary procedure involved.
Instead, they lead with the impression that the teacher was jailed over his use of “pronouns”.
Similar claims subsequently went viral on social media, with celebrities including Piers Morgan and Jordan Peterson posting about the case.
TheJournal.ie explains: “It is clear from reports about the court case, which explain the school’s arguments and the High Court’s ruling to jail Enoch Burke, that he was imprisoned for breaching an order to stay away from his place of work.
“That order was made after Burke continually attended school after being asked not to by his employer because a disciplinary process was ongoing.
“The school’s board told the High Court that despite being served with and made aware of an interim injunction to stay away from the school, Burke continued to come to work.
“They also said their sole objective was to prevent any further disruption to students, and that no finding has been made against Burke in terms of the disciplinary process in which he is involved.”
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