Enoch Burke is an Irish teacher at the centre of a prolonged legal dispute with Wilson’s Hospital School in County Westmeath — originally over his refusal to use a transgender student’s chosen name and pronouns.(they/them) He was suspended and later dismissed from his teaching role in 2022, but he has continued to turn up at the school claiming he still has a right to work there.
Despite being dismissed, Burke still receives a teaching salary because his appeal of that dismissal is ongoing. The school agreed to keep paying him while the disciplinary appeal panel considers the case. Burke technically remains employed at the school until his appeal is fully resolved and because he is still paid and considers himself a teacher there, the school is his workplace, he returns there every day but is not allowed to enter.
He has had periods of time in prison because he turns up at the school in defiance of court orders. He has recently been released from prision and has started to turn up at the school again.
My View
This is a very complex case. On the one hand I fully respect people’s right to be the gender they choose and to be addressed as such. On the other hand I believe that kids should should be taught that there are two main genders (male and female) and any other genders are an offshoot of those two. There are thousands of clours but there are three primary colours, red, green and blue.
In the case of Enoch Burke, it is a great pity that a settlement could not be made with the school to avoid him doing prision time. He is very stubborn however and should not continue to turn up at the school but instead find a solution with them.
What is your view?
(eugeneward78) A blog 