
The Court of Appeal has ruled he should not have to face a disciplinary appeal panel while the head of a teaching union remains on it.
Enoch Burke has won an appeal over the makeup of the three-member panel due to hear a challenge to his dismissal from Wilson’s Hospital School.
The Court of Appeal has ruled he should not have to face a disciplinary appeal panel while the head of a teaching union remains on it.
Enoch Burke believes he was fired because he objected to a request to refer to a transgender student by their chosen name and preferred pronouns.
The school insists it was nothing to do with his religious beliefs, but rather his response to the instruction – which was made by the then school principal.
Mr Burke plans to challenge his dismissal but took legal action first against the proposed makeup of the three-member Disciplinary Appeal Panel.
He claimed the inclusion of Kieran Christie, General Secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), was unfair due to his alleged bias on the issue of transgender recognition.
A previous challenge was dismissed by the High Court but in the interest of fairness, the Court of Appeal today ruled in Mr Burke’s favour, deciding that he had made out a reasonable apprehension of bias.