Burke teaches German, history and politics at Wilson’s Hospital School in Westmeath, Ireland, which is a Church of Ireland boarding school first founded in 1761 and was an all-boys school until 1969. Burke was given a court order at the start of fall term not to teach or be physically present at the school following his refusal to address one of his student’s with their chosen pronouns.
Burke refused to comply with the order and apparently showed up to the empty classroom and declared he was there to work. It was then that he was arrested after breaching the court order.
“I am a teacher and I don't want to go to prison. I want to be in my classroom today, that's where I was this morning when I was arrested,” Burke told Judge Michael Quinn in court. “I love my school, with its motto Res Non Verba, actions not words, but I am here today because I said I would not call a boy a girl.”
“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,” he added.
“My religious beliefs are not misconduct. They are not gross misconduct. They never will be. They are dear to me. I will never deny them and never betray them, and I will never bow to an order that would require me to do so. It is just not possible for me to do that.”
Judge Quinn found Burke guilty of violating a High Court order to keep him off the school’s premises. Judge Quinn said he was not ruling on Burke’s principles or religious beliefs but on the question of whether or not he would try and return to the school despite being prohibited from doing so.
“It is insanity that I will be led from this courtroom to a place of incarceration, but I will not give up my Christian beliefs,” said Burke after the judge made his ruling.
Rosemary Mallon, who is a barrister-at-law for the board of management, told Judge Quinn that the school, in an effort to get Burke to comply with the order, saw that they had no choice but to send him to prison despite having a “heavy heart” in doing so.
“Mr. Burke is knowingly in breach of this order, he is therefore in contempt and he has made it clear that if he is not committed to prison he will attend at the school [today], and the concerns of the school regarding the ongoing disruption to the students remain,” said Mallon before the ruling.