Judge silences Burke's online rant

A JUDGE hit the mute button on Enoch Burke as he went on an online rant from Mountjoy Jail after watching members of his family being physically carted out of court.

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The scenes unfolded as High Court Justice Brian Cregan threw out a series of claims that there were errors made in an earlier judgment jailing the former teacher over his repeated trespass on Wilson's Hospital School in Westmeath.

Members of Burke's family - mother Martina and siblings Ammi and Isaac - were physically removed by gardai yesterday when the judge said they could not be present due to repeated disruptive behaviour at past hearings.

The trio had arrived earlier and sat in the front bench, usually reserved for senior barristers, while Burke appeared online from Mountjoy in what appeared to be a boardroom with a long table.

Isaac was pulled out of the seat first by a garda and then lifted bodily with one garda holding his legs and the other under his arms.