The High Court found that Enoch Burke wilfully breached an injunction by attending Wilson’s Hospital School on 5, 6 and 9 January 2023, and ordered that he would face a fine of €700 for each day or part-day of continued non-compliance unless he purged his contempt by 2pm on 27 January.
The ruling by Mr Justice Brian O’Moore, delivered on 26 January 2023, concerned the school’s motion over Burke’s continued attendance during paid administrative leave. An order made by Mr Justice Barrett on 7 September 2022 barred Burke from attending the school for the duration of that leave and from trespassing on school property. It also restrained him from failing to comply with directions of the school’s board.
The court heard that Burke attended the school after his release from prison on 21 December. The school’s board chairman said in an affidavit that Burke was asked to leave on 5 January but replied that he was there to work. The principal set up a workspace nearby and restricted student access to the corridor. Burke returned on 6 January and again on 9 January, according to the evidence before the court. On 6 January, the board gave him a letter directing him to leave and not return during his suspension.
O’Moore said Burke had not materially contradicted the affidavit evidence. Applying the criminal standard of proof, the judge found the breaches were conscious, deliberate and wilful. Burke argued that the September orders were void from the outset and that he had breached no valid order. The judge rejected that argument, saying the orders remained effective unless set aside or reversed through the proper process.
The school sought attachment and committal or sequestration of assets. Its written and oral submissions also asked the court to consider a fine. Although the motion did not expressly request a fine, O’Moore said Burke knew it was being considered, had been offered time to respond and had declined that offer. The judge concluded that it was procedurally open to impose one.
The court did not order Burke’s return to prison or sequestration of his assets. It chose a daily fine, saying continued attendance was disrupting the school and that other measures were unlikely to secure compliance. The amount was set without reliable information about Burke’s assets or income; the only income figure before the court was the school’s estimate of gross annual salary of about €48,000.
The fine was conditional: Burke could purge his contempt by undertaking to obey the order. The matter was listed for review on 10 February, when the court also intended to decide who would pay the costs of the motion. The judgment did not decide the underlying dispute or the outcome of the school’s disciplinary process.