Teacher arrested and brought to Mountjoy Prison

The Irish school teacher Enoch Burke has been arrested and brought to Mountjoy Prison on foot of an order issued by the High Court last week, which directed his imprisonment for contempt of court.

During that hearing in Dublin, Mr Justice Cregan said that Mr Burke and members of his family had engaged in a “deliberate, sustained and concerted attack” on the authority of the civil courts and the rule of law.

He has been attending at Wilson’s Hospital School, from which he was previously dismissed for gross misconduct, since it reopened after the summer holidays.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said they executed a High Court order in Mullingar, County Westmeath on Tuesday.

Mr Burke was dismissed for gross misconduct arising out of his refusal to obey a direction of the school that a transgender pupil be addressed as ‘they’ and “because of his gross misconduct at a school religious service (and other events) and the manner in which he conducted his objection to transgenderism”, according to the judgement.

The school teacher has already spent more than 500 days in prison for contempt on three occasions since September 2022.

Following the issuing of the order, gardaí had attended his home in Castlebar in County Mayo on a number of occasions last week, and left each time without Mr Burke, RTÉ have reported.

Mr Burke has not been seen at the school since the order was issued.

However, on Friday, it is understood he attended the school for a short period and recorded a video outside the grounds.

On Tuesday it is understood Mr Burke returned to the school and gardaí received a call alerting them to his presence.