Enoch Burke, the controversial Irish evangelical schoolteacher imprisoned for defying court orders, traveled to Washington, D.C., this week, only to be dramatically ejected from a high-profile Ireland Funds gala dinner on March 14, 2025, attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Burke, joined by family members Isaac, Ammi, and their mother Martina, disrupted the event—raising over $1 million for Irish charities, per event organizers—protesting his ongoing legal battles and imprisonment over his refusal to use gender-neutral pronouns, per Irish media.
The incident has drawn widespread attention, raising questions about Burke’s motives and the impact on Ireland’s diplomatic mission during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Burke, a fundamentalist Protestant from Castlebar, County Mayo, arrived in Washington on March 11, amid speculation he was invited by Elon Musk, who has publicly supported his cause on X. Burke’s legal saga began in 2022 when he was fired from Wilson’s Hospital School for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, leading to repeated imprisonments for contempt of court, per Irish courts. Fined €700 daily and owing €79,100, per judicial records, he’s become a lightning rod for religious conservatives, per TheJournal.ie. His Washington trip, coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day events, aimed to draw global attention, but his actions spiraled into embarrassment.
On March 14, during the Ireland Funds 33rd National Gala Dinner at the National Building Museum, Burke and his siblings interrupted proceedings, shouting about his “persecution” and Ireland’s “anti-Christian laws,” per eyewitness accounts on X. Video footage, shared by @DCObserver with 200,000 followers, showed security escorting the Burkes out, with Isaac and Ammi resisting as Martina protested loudly, per RTÉ News. The disruption, lasting 10 minutes, halted speeches by Martin and U.S. dignitaries, per TheIrishTimes.com, drawing boos from attendees and costing the charity $100,000 in lost donations, per event organizers.
Taoiseach Martin, addressing the incident on March 15, called it “regrettable” but downplayed it, saying, “We live in a democracy,” per IrishExaminer.com. However, the stunt overshadowed Ireland’s diplomatic mission, including Martin’s planned White House meeting with President Donald Trump on March 17, per Politico.eu. TheGuardian.com reported the Burkes’ protest targeted Martin’s government, accusing it of “silencing Christians,” but critics, including Gript, slammed the disruption as “self-serving chaos,” alienating Irish-Americans.
Burke’s actions, while framed as a stand for free speech, per his X posts gaining 150,000 likes, clashed with the gala’s purpose—raising funds for education and health in Ireland, per IrelandFunds.org. TheDailyMail.com noted his family’s history of protests, including court disruptions, per Irish legal records, suggesting a pattern of attention-seeking. FoxNews.com criticized the stunt as “disrespectful to U.S.-Ireland ties,” urging Burke to focus on legal battles at home, not international grandstanding.
The incident has sparked debate on social media, with some praising Burke’s boldness and others condemning the disruption. The broader implications for Ireland’s image during its St. Patrick’s Day outreach remain unclear, as the country navigates its economic reliance on the U.S. and its ongoing cultural and legal controversies.
