A High Court judge has excluded Enoch Burke from attending the full hearing of the ongoing dispute between the teacher and Wilson's Hospital School over disciplinary proceedings resulting in his suspension from work.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Mr Burke could not attend the courtroom and could view the proceedings by video link after finding that Mr Burke was in contempt of the face of the court for his constant interruption of the proceedings.
The case had been held up by constant heated exchanges between Mr Burke and the judge and the teacher and barristers representing the school he once worked at.
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The judge made the ruling after Mr Burke had refused to state if he would cease interrupting the case, allow the matter to proceed and the school to open its case against him.
Mr Burke described the judge's decision to exclude him as being "horrific".
In reply, the judge, who on over "20 occasions," asked Mr Burke if he wanted to proceed with and not to interrupt the court, said Mr Burke was "the author of his own destruction".
"What will we do with you Mr Burke," adding that the teacher "would test the patience of Jobe."
The Judge said Mr Burke had "excluded himself" and it was a case of "bye-bye" from the courtroom but that he could return to court and participate in the hearing once he agreed to comply with the rules of court and allow the case to proceed without interruption.
At the outset of the case Mr Burke attempted to raise an issue about documents "discovered" by the school to him as part of the proceedings. He claimed that the matter could not proceed until his concerns about the tampering of documents had been addressed.
He also claimed that material had been wrongly redacted, and certain material including minutes from school board meetings, and that screenshots of WhatsApp messages between the former school's principal and Niamh McShane and the chairman of its board of management Mr John Rogers had not been provided to him.
He further claimed that the court had been lied to and misled by the school and its lawyers, claiming that certain redacted documents had been "tampered" with.
Alex White SC for the school said that all relevant material had been provided to Mr Burke and strongly rejected claims that lies had been told by his colleagues or his clients.
No formal application to the court had been made by Mr Burke in relation to discovery, and the matter had only been raised at the last minute.
Ruling on the matter, Mr Justice Owens dismissed Mr Burke's claim and said he did not accept that any evidence had been put before the court to show that any material had been tampered with or that the court had been lied to.
The judge agreed to a suggestion by Mr White that certain matters raised by Mr Burke about the discovery of, if required by the court, could be clarified and revisited during the course of the hearing.
However, Mr Burke insisted on making submissions on what he said was the tampering of the documents.
This resulted in several lengthy and heated exchanges between the bench, who reminded Mr Burke that he was not a judge, and wanted him "not to 'c'mon Judge' me or try to cajole me."
Mr Justice Owens also warned Mr Burke about his behaviour towards the court, and the school's lawyers.
During the proceedings, Mr Burke said he was "seeking justice" and accused Mr White of telling lies and said he should be "struck off the registrar of barristers."
In reply, Mr White said that Mr Burke's tactic was to torpedo the case and call anyone who disagrees with him a liar.
Mark Connaughton SC, also for the school, told the court said the nobody should have to listen to this, that Mr Burke was clearly in contempt of the face of court and would "not listen to anybody."
The judge said he agreed and was finding Mr Burke in contempt of court. He was not jailing him but was excluding him from the court until he agrees to stop interrupting.
At 2pm, Burke was excluded from the court by the Gardai. As a result his family walked out of court and the school commenced its case.
Mr Burke was suspended from the Co Westmeath secondary school last year, and was the subject of High Court injunction, which was put in place pending the outcome of the full hearing of the dispute, over his failure to comply with the terms of his suspension which required him to stay away from the school while he was on administrative leave.
His continued refusal to comply with those orders resulted in him being found in contempt of court and his incarceration for 108 days.
Following his release from prison he has continued to breach the injunction and has been subjected a daily fine of €700.
He was also dismissed by the school following a disciplinary hearing. That decision is currently under appeal.
Mr Burke denies any wrongdoing, and says that his suspension arises out of his opposition to transgendarism and a direction by the school to refer to a student who wishes to transition by a different pronoun.
In a counterclaim he says that the disciplinary process against him should be set aside and that it breaches his constitutional rights, including his right to freedom of expression of his religious beliefs.
Given his unblemished record as a teacher, he claims he should never have been suspended from his job as a teacher of German and History.
The school says that it was fully entitled to bring disciplinary proceedings against the teacher and rejects any wrongdoing.
The on-going proceedings between the parties have resulted in many court hearings, and has seen Mr Burke and members of his family removed from courtrooms by the Gardai for interrupting the proceedings.
Earlier this month Mr Burke, his parents and three of his siblings were removed amid chaotic scenes from the Court of Appeal while it was in the process of rejecting his appeal against injunctions made against him by the High Court.
Mr Burke has, subsequent to the CoA's ruling, written to that court asking it to overturn its findings.
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