Orange is the new Burke

Judgment (No. 3) of Mr. Justice Cregan delivered on the 9th day of December, 2025 in the High Court in the case of The Board of Management of Wilson’s Hospital School (Plaintiff) and Enoch Burke (Defendant)

https://ww2.courts.ie/acc/alfresco/1e3fe7c8-aba7-4912-b816-263a7a2f6ada/2025_IEHC_711.pdf/pdf#view=fitH 

Here it is in Cregan J’s own words, rather than the newspapers' interpretation or abridgement. Again a relatively easy read in which he deals with 

• His use of the words “baleful” and “malign” and “roaming” and “stalking” 
• The finding that pupils and teachers of the school ‘have indicated in their affidavits’ that Burke is a potential to danger to them
• Burke’s submission that statements in the original judgement amounted to character assassination (a delightful rebuttal, quoted below)
• Burke’s allegation that the original judgment was an abuse of power
• Contempt of Court
• The Assault on Truth ("One of the most disturbing aspects about this case is the amount of lies being told by Mr. Burke about this matter")
• The Rule of Law 
• Abuse of Process
• Conclusions

Far from rowing back or climbing down, Cregan J has set out in the clearest possible terms his reasoning and the appropriateness of his choice of words, and gone on to confront Burke’s “nonsense”, “lies”, Contempt of Court, Assault on Truth, lack of concern for the Rule of Law and Abuse of Process. Rather than simply ignoring Burke’s delusional witterings and appalling behaviour as some of his peers did, Cregan J confronts them head on. And as with his previous judgements it would appear that Cregan J has put a lot of time and effort into eviscerating Burke’s complaints and contentions. His three judgements, unless challenged and found wanting in the COA or Supreme Court, will serve as a point of reference for judges in any future Burke related cases. 

I thought that the rebuttal of the allegation by Burke of character assassination was particularly good:

36. Mr. Burke submitted that my statements in paragraph 158 amounted to character assassination. Character is revealed by both actions and words. This then, is Mr. Burke from a review of his actions and words: a teacher who verbally berates a bishop during a religious service; a teacher who berates the principal after the school service, in front of pupils, teachers, and parents; a teacher who has been dismissed for gross misconduct; a man who trespasses upon school property when the school does not want him there; a man who breaches court orders directing him not to trespass on school property; a teacher who would rather that the school pay money for security guards to keep him out rather than pay €1,000 a week on the needs of its pupils; a man who is prepared to sacrifice the pupils of the school for his cause; a man who prefers a strategy of confrontation rather than one of dialogue and compromise; a man who exhibits an abnormal degree of verbal aggression and disrespect; a man who lacks insight into the inappropriateness of his behaviour; a man who verbally abuses all judges before whom he appears; a man who lies on affidavit, a man who lies to security guards, and a man who lies on every social media post which he puts up online about the reasons why he is prison. Mr. Burke has assassinated his own character by his deeds and words. I have simply described what the evidence has shown.

some other nuggets:

38. Mr Burke has been committed to prison for ongoing and flagrant breaches of a court order. There is no reason why he should be released every few months to take a holiday from Mountjoy Prison. No other person who is committed to prison for breach of a court order is afforded a similar privilege. When viewed in this light, it is clear that, in fact, Mr Burke has been afforded special privileges by the court, when these privileges have neither been warranted nor earned. No doubt, judges of the High Court thought that he might reflect on his actions over these holidays and not return to school. But Mr. Burke abused this freedom by continuing to trespass.

40. I am also of the view that the school should not have to await with fear and trepidation, over the Christmas holiday, to see whether Mr Burke intends to trespass on the school on the first day of the new term, if Mr. Burke were released. That is very disconcerting for the school. The school should be allowed to prepare for the new term starting in January in the sure and confident knowledge that Mr Burke will not be appearing at the school.

48. Yet in statement after statement to this court, and elsewhere, Mr. Burke says that he is in prison because of his opposition to transgender rights. He knows these statements are lies. Yet he continues to make them.

49. Mr. Burke seems to be trying to inhabit a reality of his own, with his own “Alice in Wonderland” language, where words mean what he says they mean, where his lies are the truth, and everything everyone else says are lies. This court is concerned with what are, objectively speaking, the facts and truth of the situation.

50. There may well be good arguments as to why teachers should not be compelled to call pupils by the pronouns “they/them”; there may also be good reasons as to why they should. This case raises important questions about freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. The courts exist precisely to deal with these clashes of constitutional rights so that they are resolved through the legal process, and not through violence. However, in order that this clash of constitutional rights is considered by impartial courts, it is necessary that the Rule of Law is maintained and that court orders are obeyed.

55. When I first heard this matter, I assumed that Mr. Burke was engaged in a bona fide defence of a legal case. The more this case has gone on, the more I have come to realise that Mr. Burke is not interested in defending this legal case at all. He (and other members of his family) have sought to disrupt and undermine every hearing at which they have attended; they have engaged in repeated verbal abuse of whatever judge is hearing that particular application; he has refused repeatedly to accept court rulings; he (and members of his family) have been dragged kicking and screaming from the Court of Appeal, preventing the court from delivering its judgment and resulting in a criminal conviction of Mr. Sean Burke for assaulting a female garda officer. He is using the courts to pursue his political campaign against transgenderism. He is perfectly entitled to fight that campaign in the public and political arena; the courts however are not the appropriate place to do so. Mr. Burke’s conduct of this case is simply an abuse of process.

I’ll stop before I repost the judgement in it’s entirety. If you have 10 mins to spare please read the entire judgement. It is only 15 pages and it is clear, concise and easily digested and will clear up any lingering doubts about the merits of Burke's assertions and allegations.

He's unhinged because of all the unhinged things he has done and said over the past three years. Pretty easy to see.

Oh yes he is. I know so. His whole family are unhinged. They have all been home schooled and cannot accept authority.

The Burkes are absolutely hated in my alma mater, UCG. They have caused so much strife and cost in a respected educational institution.

Saying Enoch is unhinged is actually putting it mildly. There is nothing normal about his behaviour.

It's by far the easiest argument for them to make in order to justify their own support for him due to their aligned beliefs regarding transgenderism, rather than acknowledging the guy is a loon who overreacted and has dug his heels in so far with his own behaviours to the point of being fined, jailed, and shown up for the unhinged dingbat that he is.

Mod - @road_high, do not post in this thread again.

Thought provoking article. It's available here for those with poor eyesight…..:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-41757839.html

I really like the sentiment in the concluding paragraph:

In any case, I’m often reminded that all we will ever be remembered for long after we’re dead is the impact we had on the people whose lives we connected with. Nothing else will matter. 

Enoch and a number of his siblings have sacrificed so much, and you have to ask "what for?" Whose life is better off as a result of this effort and sacrifice ? Such a pathetically sad mess when you look at it.