Was "Irish Christian teacher Enoch Burke" sentenced to life in prison for transphobia and "refusing to use a transgender student's pronouns"? No, that's not true: The sentencing judge explicitly stated that the decision is about the repeated contempt of court for repeatedly ignoring an order to not trespas on school property. The same judge said that Burke "does not have to accept transgenderism" to leave jail -- he only needs to stop trespassing on other people's property, which, according to court materials, was a court order Burke violated multiple times over the years.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on December 3, 2025. It read:
Today in Ireland, Christian schoolteacher Enoch Burke was sentenced to LIFE in prison for 'refusing to use a transgender student's pronouns' back in 2022. He will now spend THE REST OF HIS LIFE behind bars unless a last-ditch legal challenge works. This is absolutely INSANE.
Users on social media saw an image attached to the post:
(Source: Lead Stories screenshot of post x.com/CilComLFC)
Enoch Burke is a teacher who has been involved in ongoing legal proceedings in Ireland since 2022 (archived here), which began after his suspension from Wilson's Hospital School in August of that year.
The notion about the life sentence appears to have originated from Burke's account on X, where a post (archived here) published on December 3, 2025, claimed:
BREAKING: Judge jails Enoch Burke for Christmas with effective life sentence...
On November 18, 2025, Justice Cregan issued a judgment (archived here) that returned Burke to jail. Page 3 of the document explains the reasons:
Mr. Burke has not been imprisoned or fined for his views on transgender issues, which he is perfectly entitled to have and to articulate. Mr. Burke has been imprisoned, and fined, for contempt of court, because he has breached court orders directing him not to trespass on school property.
The judgment additionally pointed out that "Mr. Burke has refused to obey this court order for the last three years."
In the most recent judgment (archived here) issued on November 28, 2025, the same judge made it clear that neither "transgenderism" nor Burke's religious beliefs had anything to do with his jail time. Furthermore, that document debunks the idea that the man was sent behind bars for life, as page 3 offers a detailed description of what he needs to do to get out of jail and what is not required to achieve that outcome. The judge wrote:
10. I would like to make it crystal clear to Mr. Burke what he must do to purge his contempt and to be released from prison.
11. He must give an undertaking to the court that he will not enter on, or trespass on, the school's property again without the school's consent. That is all. (The issue of outstanding fines will however remain.)
12. He does not have to give any undertaking that he will follow the school principal's direction to call a child 'they' or 'them'. He does not have to accept transgenderism. He does not have to stop protesting against transgenderism. He does not have to change his religious beliefs one iota.
13. The idea that Mr. Burke is being imprisoned because of his religious beliefs is nonsense. This court does not imprison people for their religious beliefs. Mr. Burke is being imprisoned because he is trespassing on other people's property. No more. No less.
The document additionally emphasizes:
14. Any statements by Mr. Burke, or other members of his family, that he is being imprisoned because of his opposition to transgenderism are demonstrably false.
False claims about the court proceedings in this case have spread on social media before. Lead Stories previously wrote that rumors similar to those reviewed in this article surrounded Burke's arrest in 2024.
