Jailed teacher Enoch Burke will remain behind bars for the Christmas season after he again refused to obey a court order to stay away and not try to teach at the secondary school at which he is employed,

Despite refusing to purge his contempt Mr Burke, via a video link from Mountjoy, pleaded with Mr Justice Conor Dignam this week to release him from custody. There are examples of judges releasing prisoners from jail despite their contempt not being purged.

He told the court that he was “not a thief, a murderer or a drug dealer” and was behind bars because of his religious objections to “transgenderism”.

The judge said that he was not prepared to release Mr Burke, given that the teacher at Wilson’s Hospital School in Co Westmeath is not prepared to purge his contempt and comply with what the judge said is “a valid court order”.