Court archive
Court reports mentioning Multyfarnham, Westmeath
2026-07-28 · Westmeath
Two Westmeath brothers who sexually assaulted teenage girls in the mid-nineties have now been identified for the first time. John Owens (72) was jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to nine counts of sexual assault against three teenage girls. His brother, Martin Owens (66), was also found guilty of sexually assaulting two of the victims. The victims, aged 14 to 17, were babysitting for Owens' children. During the trial, it was revealed that Owens groomed the victims and used alcohol to manipulate them. Martin Owens was sentenced to five years and six months, with the final six months suspended. The victims described the lasting trauma and emotional impact of the abuse. John Owens was sentenced to eight years, with a total headline sentence of 15 years reduced due to guilty pleas. The victims expressed relief in finally having their abusers identified and acknowledged their suffering.
2023-11-30 · Westmeath
A 49‑year‑old mother, Lynn Eagar, was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to murdering her two children, Thelma (5) and Michael (2), by setting fire to the car they were travelling in. The court heard that Eagar had sent text messages before the incident expressing that she believed the children would no longer suffer. She admitted to placing petrol in the rear footwell of a blue Lexus and igniting it, causing the vehicle to burst into flames. The children died; Eagar sustained minimal burns and was rescued by a passerby. She had no prior convictions and had been in custody since September 2022, later transferred to the Central Mental Hospital. The judge imposed a mandatory life sentence for each count of murder, expressing sympathy for the bereaved family. The summary is 140 words.
2023-07-17 · Westmeath
Schoolteacher Enoch Burke, dismissed from Wilson's Hospital School for alleged gross misconduct, was ordered by Mr Justice Alexander Owens to pay the school legal costs in a High Court action. Burke, who denied wrongdoing, argued that his suspension stemmed from his opposition to transgenderism and a school directive to refer to a student wishing to transition with a different name and pronoun. He claimed the disciplinary process breached his constitutional rights, including freedom of expression of religious beliefs. The court found Burke had been lawfully suspended and awarded the school costs, while restraining him from trespassing on the school premises. Burke appealed the dismissal, but a temporary injunction was granted to halt the appeal hearing, a move he contested. The case remains at the disciplinary appeal stage.
2023-05-19 · Westmeath
In a High Court decision on 19 May 2023, Mr Enoch Burke, an evangelical Christian teacher at Wilson's Hospital secondary school, was found to have been lawfully suspended. The judge, Mr Justice Alexander Owens, upheld the school's disciplinary action, citing Burke's public objections to a school request to use a different name and pronoun for a student who allegedly wished to transition. The court deemed the suspension rational and reasonable, and rejected Burke's claim that the process was procedurally flawed. Burke was also ordered to pay €15,000 in damages for trespassing on the school campus, in addition to a daily €700 fine imposed earlier for breaching court orders to stay away. The judge ruled that a suspended employee cannot return to the workplace unless the employer accepts the employee's resumption, and dismissed Burke's counterclaim. The school's board subsequently decided to dismiss Burke, a decision he has appealed.
2023-03-28 · Westmeath
A 48‑year‑old woman, Lynn Eagar of Winetown, Rathowen, County Westmeath, faces trial on 15 January 2024 for the murders of her two children, Thelma (5) and Michael Dennany (2). The children died when the car they were in caught fire on 9 September 2022 at Lackan, Multyfarnham. The Central Criminal Court heard the case on 21 July, with a two‑week trial expected. Eagar's counsel, Sean Gillane SC, hopes many facts will be agreed, and the court has set witness and exhibit orders for the trial date.
2022-10-24 · Westmeath
Jailed teacher Enoch Burke has asked the High Court to stay the full hearing of the action brought by his employer, the Church of Ireland's Diocesan School for Meath and Kildare, until his appeal against the injunction that bars him from teaching at Wilson's Hospital is decided. The injunction, obtained after Burke was suspended on full pay in late August, was issued because he refused to stay away from the school, a refusal he says is rooted in his objection to "transgendarism". Burke, who is currently in Mountjoy Prison, has appealed to the Court of Appeal, with the appeal set for February next year. Mr Justice Brian O'Moore refused an application for Burke to attend court to seek a stay, adjourned the matter to November 7, and said the school had sufficient notice of the application.
2022-10-13 · Westmeath
Jailed teacher Enoch Burke appeared before the High Court on Thursday to claim he was defamed in a Sunday Independent article. Represented by his sister, solicitor Ammi Burke, he sought an urgent order under Section 33 of the 2009 Defamation Act to prevent republication, alleging the paper falsely claimed he was moved within Mountjoy Prison. The publisher denied the allegations. Justice Brian O'Moore rejected the request for Burke to be produced from prison earlier than Friday, noting the article had been removed. He refused to make an order without notice to the newspaper but set an early return date for Burke to formalise his application. Justice O'Moore, who is also presiding over the underlying dispute with Wilson's Hospital School, expressed bemusement at claims that media reporting could prejudice the case. He stated he would not be influenced by media coverage and planned to hear from both parties on Friday regarding case management. Burke, who has been incarcerated since early September for contempt of court after refusing to comply with an injunction to stay away from the school, has appealed to the Court of Appeal against the injunction and his suspension. He denies misconduct allegations related to his objection to addressing a transitioning student with specific pronouns, which he says conflicts with his Christian beliefs. The school maintains the issue is his refusal to obey court orders. The appeal is scheduled for mention before the Court of Appeal on Friday.
2022-10-04 · Westmeath
Jailed teacher Enoch Burke has formally lodged an appeal against a High Court injunction preventing him from attending or teaching at Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath. The appeal, which is currently at the validated procedural stage of appeal, was lodged at the Office of the Court of Appeal (CoA) on Tuesday. Mr Burke, who was committed to prison until he agrees to obey an order not to attend or teach at the school, has not appealed the High Court orders committing him to prison for contempt. His appeal seeks to set aside orders including the granting of the temporary ex-parte injunction against him and the subsequent decision to keep the injunction in place pending the final hearing of the matter. He has also appealed against the High Court's dismissal of applications brought by him aimed at setting aside his suspension from the school. The appeal is due to be mentioned before a directions hearing of the CoA later this month but is unlikely to be heard before Christmas. Mr Burke, who objects to addressing a student with the pronoun 'they' and opposes 'Transgendarism', claims that the suspension is unlawful, unfair, and unreasonable and in breach of his constitutional rights to religion, freedom of expression, and conscience. His appeal is separate from the disciplinary process against him, which he denies. The school, which is located in Multyfarnham Co Westmeath, claims that Mr Burke's refusal to comply with the injunction was disruptive to the school's students at the beginning of the new academic year. Mr Burke has also brought his own proceedings against the school where he seeks various orders and declarations including a declaration that the disciplinary process against him is unlawful and a breach of his constitutional rights, including his rights to freedom of expression, conscience, and religion. He also seeks various orders preventing the school from continuing both his paid administrative leave and the disciplinary process against him. He further seeks an order preventing the school from dismissing him from his position. Mr Burke was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a disciplinary process commenced by the school, where he has been employed for several years. That process commenced after it is alleged that Mr Burke publicly voiced his alleged opposition to the school's principal direction to address a student, who wishes to transition, by a different name and by using the pronoun 'they' rather than he or she. The school claims that last June a service and dinner was held to mark its 260th anniversary, which was attended by clergy, staff, past and present pupils, parents, and board members. It is claimed that Mr Burke interrupted the service and said that the school's then principal, Ms Niamh McShane, should withdraw the earlier demand regarding the student. It is also claimed that he said that he could not agree with transgenderism, and said it went against the school's ethos and the teaching of the Church of Ireland. The school claims that after he spoke, members of the congregation and students walked out of the school chapel where the service was being conducted. After the meal he is alleged to have approached the Principal and again asked her to withdraw the request regarding the student. In a sworn statement to the court, Mr Burke said he rejects claim made by the former school principal Niamh McShane that he questioned her loudly at the function. Mr Burke said that the former principal's allegations against him are 'entirely false'.