Secondary school teacher Enoch Burke has told an Appeal Court judge that setting a date in next February for his appeal is an "insult to the rule of law" and that the judge "shouldn't be in the chair".
During the hearing in the Court of Appeal this morning, Mr Justice John Edwards directed that Mr Burke’s mother, Martina Burke be taken out of the courtroom after she interrupted proceedings to say her son was "incarcerated because of corrupt judges".
The judge also made an order referring Mr Burke’s sister, Amii, a qualified solicitor, to the Law Society of Ireland for interrupting the case when she had no right to address the court but he rescinded that order a short time later.
Mr Burke has been in Mountjoy Prison for more than a month for breaching an injunction directing him to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath where he teaches.
The injunction was granted when Mr Burke continued to attend the school despite being suspended as part of a disciplinary process.
The disciplinary process began after Mr Burke publicly confronted the then principal over a request to call a pupil a new name and use the "they/them" pronouns.
Mr Burke is appealing the granting of the injunction to the school and he is also appealing the High Court’s refusal to grant him injunctions stopping his suspension.
He says he cannot purge his contempt because of his conscience.
Mr Burke was before the High Court first thing this morning where Mr Justice Brian O'Moore said he wanted the underlying legal dispute between the teacher and the school heard and determined as soon as possible.
The judge said he wanted cases involving people jailed for contempt to be heard as early as possible and hoped it could be heard before Christmas or early in the New year.
However, Mr Burke wants the Court of Appeal to make its judgment first. He says if he succeeds in his appeal, that would resolve many of the issues in the underlying dispute.
In the Appeal Court he asked for his appeal to be heard urgently.
He said four High Court judges had dealt with his case so far and had failed to consider in any way his constitutional rights to freedom of expression, conscience or religion.
He said one judge had said the case was not about "transgenderism" when he said, the report on which he was suspended had "transgenderism all over it".
Mr Burke said the case was of huge public importance. He said he had gone from being a first class teacher who coached students to award after award, year after year to sitting as a criminal in a 12 foot by 6 foot cell for 20 hours.
However he said he could not with conscience purge his contempt.
He said a big freeze was settling down over the constitutional right to express religion and it was well within the court’s power to give the case the priority it deserved and convene a special sitting of the court if necessary.
Mr Justice Edwards said he was disposed to accept there was "moderate urgency"about the case and said the first possible date he could offer for an appeal was 16 February.
Martina Burke said this was ridiculous and her son had been incarcerated because of corrupt judges. She asked if the judge had "a problem with the constitution" and said the judges were "colluding together against the law".
The judge asked for a garda to take Mrs Burke from the court. He said while he appreciated the proceedings were stressful and she was concerned for her son, the case had to be conducted with decorum.
Mr Burke told the judge he had not listened to anything he had said. He accused him of having his mind made up to leave him in custody and he quoted a verse from the bible to him beginning "woe unto them who call evil good and good evil."
Mr Burke’s sister, Amii, who is a solicitor, told the court it was a disgrace. And their father, Sean said the constitution was being "torn to shatters".
The judge said he was directing the disciplinary committee of the Law Society to look at the matter in circumstances where Ms Burke interrupted the court and did not apologise, but he rescinded his order after Ms Burke said she did not shout at the judge.
Mr Burke told the judge it was not true to say his appeal had nothing to do with him being in custody.
He said he was in custody because of his conscience.
He was removed from the court for a final time after he told the judge he fundamentally misunderstood the case and that the judge "shouldn’t be in that chair" if he thought the case had nothing to do with his religious beliefs.
Mr Burke was brought back to Mountjoy Prison and his mother, father and sister left court a short time later.
